It's All Relative
by Fuzzy Elf
Summary: In Magneto's absence, Mystique has reunited the Brotherhood with the intention of leading the mutant rebellion against humanity, but things get ugly when Rogue discovers yet another of her stepmother's little lies. Set after 'Graduation Day' episode.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer – All rights to the names and likenesses of the X-Men belonging to Marvel Comics. This story takes place after the final episode of the 90s cartoon series and therefore all canon is cartoon canon, such as Sabretooth's name being Graydon Creed Sr rather than Victor Creed. The only exception is using Lance Alvers as Avalanche's real name in the effort of giving him a personality.

It's All Relative

Prologue

The young soldier watched as the transport truck slowed to a stop and the passenger door swung open. A figure wearing a heavy parka stepped out and shouted something in Russian to the driver. The figure then slammed the door and turned to face him as he approached.

"We've been expecting you-" he began, but cut himself off as he noticed the visitor was not whom he had thought it would be. "I'm sorry, I was told to expect Dr. Zhamnov."

"There has been a change of plans," the woman replied in her thick Russian accent. Her eyes fell on the TT33 Tokarev pistol holstered at his hip and a quick glance revealed that all the guards were armed with the same. "Dr. Zhamnov had to say back and monitor work on his latest project. I am his assistant, Dr. Romanova."

"Then, let me show you inside," he nodded, waving his okay to the other two guards. A thought occurred to him as they neared the building. "By the way, do you have your identification papers?"

"Of course." She pulled them out of her pocket and handed them to him. He felt a tingle of relief flow through him; he would have really been in trouble if he'd forgotten to ask for ID and something had happened. Satisfied with what he saw, he returned them.

Dr. Romanova surveyed the interior of the nuclear research facility with great interest. She noted several scientists enter a room, the door clearly marked "_Biohazard: Authorized Personnel Only_". The room could only be accessed by a security card scan.

"I believe you are required at the test site," the guard informed her. "The radiation suits are located in the room to your left, and then take the elevator to the test area on sublevel two."

"Thank you for your help," she replied. "And, if it is not too much trouble, I will need supplies brought in from the truck."

"I'll get them." The guard turned and headed back outside.

Dr. Romanova continued on her way into the storage room and pulled on a radiation suit. Then she made her way to the elevator and followed the guard's directions. For every security camera she passed she made a mental note and saw several more doors requiring a card scan for entry.

"Good evening, gentlemen," she greeted the four technicians upon entering the test lab. "Dr. Zhamnov sends his regrets, and his assistant as the messenger and replacement."

The head technician glanced at her ID tag and smiled. "Welcome, Dr. Romanova. Sergei always was a very busy man."

"Constant problems arising that require urgent attention," she agreed, noting his lack of Russian accent and glancing at his nametag in return: Dr. Miller. _Always an American in charge of such things_, she thought.

"Now, to get straight to the point, you are here to monitor our disposal treatment," the technician continued, directing Dr. Romanova's attention to the figures in the next room behind a large radiation window. She took in the scene with interest, only half-listening to Dr. Miller as he went on explaining about the conditions of START II and the corresponding limitations. She watched as the men slowly dismantled a nuclear missile, carefully removing the warhead.

"Dismantling the missiles is just phase one," the technician explained. "We still have to find a way to remove and safely dispose of the nuclear material inside the warheads. Until then, they are kept in the specially-shielded storage building next door."

"A lengthy process lies ahead of you, doctor," Romanova nodded. "But even so, it is a definite advance in the disarmament project. I must report in full to the government about the facility. If your process is as good as you propose, you may be looking forward to a generous grant toward your research."

"Our fingers are crossed, I assure you," he smiled.

_And the warheads are stored next door?_ "Would I be able to take a look at that storage building, doctor?" she asked. "I must be certain that they are being held with the proper care."

"Certainly. Take this keycard and use it to open the security door," he readily complied for his important visitor.

"Thank you," she took it from his hand. "I'm going over there now."

As she turned her back on the technicians, she carefully and noiselessly unzipped her radiation suit and reached into her parka.

"Oh, Dr. Romanova," the head technician began as an afterthought. "Did Dr. Zhamnov say whether he would be arriving later or not? I've been meaning to discuss a few things with him."

She turned suddenly and he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. His hand went automatically to the spot, and when he looked down at it, it was covered in thick, red blood. He looked back up at Dr. Romanova and the silenced Walther PPK she held pointed in his direction.

The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion as she changed her aim and fired three more shots. He heard the pained cries as his personnel fell to the floor, either dead or dying.

Dr. Romanova returned aim to him. She walked a few steps forward and held the gun to his head. "As a matter of fact, Doctor Miller, he is already here," she answered him before pulling the trigger.

* * *

The young guard rubbed his cold hands together as he dropped the tailgate to Dr. Romanova's transport truck. There were several crates piled inside, and he wasn't sure which contained the supplies she needed.

"Nikolai, you borscht-for-brains," he cursed himself. "You should have sent one of the new kids to haul cargo. Better they mess up than you."

He pulled back the canvas tarp and scanned the labels on the crates. She would probably need some kind of radiation-sensing equipment, though what kind of box that would be in was beyond him. He reached for the nearest crate to him and pulled it closer to take a look inside. After taking a moment to pry the lid off with his frozen fingers, he pushed the packing foam away to discover several AK-47 rifles packed neatly inside.

"What in the world-?" he muttered to himself, feeling his stomach getting queasy. A long, black vinyl bag caught his attention and he pulled it closer to get a better look. Nikolai fumbled with the bag until he discovered a zipper and pulled it open--only to meet the blank stare of a familiar face.

"Dr. Zhamnov?" Nikolai felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he gaped at the dead body. The icy wind stung as he stood in shock, trying to decide what to do. "I've got to report this," he said aloud, attempting to get himself motivated. A thought occurred to him: maybe the driver could help him apprehend her and take her to the authorities.

"You've got to help me! Dr. Romanova is-" he shouted, flinging open the driver-side door, but stopped himself as he scanned the vacant cab in bewilderment. "What is going-"

A low growl from behind him cut him off and his hand immediately went to his hip for his weapon. He spun around and trained it on the darkness, trying to locate the source. He could see nothing but trees and shadows and began to panic. His eyes darted wildly from the darkness to the buildings and back. Perhaps he could make it inside before whatever it was out here could catch him.

Taking deep breaths and trying to remain focussed, Nikolai slowly eased his way toward the facility, keeping his back against the truck. He glanced back for a moment and noticed the prints in the snow for the first time. Huge clawed prints from an oversized foot led from the driver's door into the shadows.

Nikolai broke into a run but was immediately met with a blow to the side of his head as he passed the truck and entered open air. His gun flew from his hand as he was knocked a few feet and plowed into a snowdrift. He instinctively pushed himself to a kneeling position and spat blood and a dislodged tooth onto the white ground.

A shadow blocked out the light of the moon, and Nikolai looked up at the monster that loomed over him. His scream caught in his throat, and all he could manage was a pitiful squeak.

"Calling for help is useless when there's nobody left alive to hear you," his attacker spoke in a low, gruff voice.

"Who are you?" Nikolai tried to stand and run, but his legs had turned to rubber and would not respond. He reached out for the gun that lay only a few feet away. The attacker made a move toward him and Nikolai lunged for his weapon. Two clear shots rang out through the cold, still air but missed their mark as the monster dodged to one side and thrust a muscular arm out at its prey.

The creature caught and picked him up by the throat and squeezed his windpipe, then knocked the gun from his hand. Nikolai, now eye-to-eye with it, could make out long, mangy hair and eyebrows on the man, along with unmistakable cat-like eyes.

His attacker opened its mouth to speak, baring its sharp canine teeth in the process. "Your worst nightmare," it replied to the question and threw Nikolai away like a rag doll. The monster smirked; it had always wanted to say that.

The guard's backbone shattered as he collided with high force into a tree. "Don't move," he whispered to himself, clenching his teeth through the blinding pain. He hoped to God that the monster had left him for dead. "They will find you and help you and get you to a hospital and you will be okay as long as you _don't move_."

"Keep believing that," his attacker came into view and wrapped its long fingers around his throat, again lifting him into the air. Nikolai screamed his excruciating pain as his spinal cord was severed and he lost feeling from the waist down. "More fun for me if they do come."

Nikolai's eyes began to roll back into his head, and he fought to concentrate on what the monster was saying.

"You were right," it growled, then pulled its victim closer to speak directly in his ear. "You _should_ have sent one of the new kids to haul cargo." Then it gripped its giant hand on top of the guard's head and twisted.

* * *

Nadia Molotova admired her handiwork from the doorway. All four technicians were dead, their bright red blood pooling under their bodies. She looked up at the security camera in the corner of the ceiling. Her partner off base was to have hacked into the facility's computer system and shut off all surveillance equipment. If he hadn't, there was going to be a whole lot of trouble very soon. Sasha turned her attention to the radiation window and was relieved to see that the men in the next room had not noticed anything happening. They were much too engrossed in dismantling the warhead.

She pulled a two-way radio headset out of her parka pocket and adjusted it over her ear and mouth.

"Sabretooth, are you finished?" she spoke into it.

* * *

Sabretooth stood over the body of the young guard. It was bent at an odd angle due to the broken spine, and this amused the giant mutant. The head lay in the snow about a foot away from the body, its face frozen in a terrified grimace.

He cocked his head at the buzzing of the radio receptor in his ear and turned his attention to Nadia's voice.

"You're clear," he replied after sniffing the air. "All of the guards have been disposed of." He grinned menacingly to himself, thinking of the scattered bodies hidden in the darkness.

* * *

"Good work," Nadia told him, and then opened the door. She moved down the hallway and used the keycard to gain access to the lab where the men were dismantling the warhead.

Taking out a gas grenade from her pocket, she opened the door a crack, pulled the pin and rolled it into the room. As it went off, the mustard gas began spreading throughout the room, and she closed and locked the door with the keycard. She attached a small device to the card scanner and punched a code into it. The scrambler went to work, denying keycard use from the other side of the door.

Nadia then made her way back to the observation lab and watched nonchalantly as the scientists coughed and choked, desperately trying to open the door. Soon the entire room was tinted yellow with the deadly chemical mist and the scientists dropped to the floor, suffocating and slowly dying.

She left and took the elevator back to the main hanger. She smiled as she passed several guards who nodded as they read her fake ID tag, completely oblivious as to what had just gone on in the lab. Obviously the cameras _had_ been deactivated.

"Toad did his job," she whispered to Sabretooth through the radio. "Have fun."

She reached the security door - also marked with a biohazard symbol - without a problem and opened it with the keycard. On the other side was an outdoor fenced-in walkway to the building containing the dismantled warheads. She let the door close behind her, knowing that in a moment, Sabretooth would be inside, ripping apart all those unlucky enough to be there.

Nadia then began to run down the walkway and her mutant power kicked in. Had anyone been alive to witness it, all they would have seen was a wall of snow being churned up behind her as she ran. Her mutant name was Velocity and she was blessed with the gift of incredible speed.

When she reached the other end of the walkway, Nadia prepared to enter the building as fast as possible. The dismantled warheads would be heavily guarded, and she had to take out all the guards before they had a chance to set off the alarms. With her powers, this would not be a problem. They would be dead before they knew what hit them.

She mused for a moment at Dr. Miller's words: _We still have to find a way to remove and safely dispose of the nuclear material inside the warheads_. In the meantime places like this were a veritable gold mine for any terrorist able to get their hands on it. That was exactly what she and the rest of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants were counting on.


	2. Secrets Revealed

It's All Relative

Chapter One

**Two weeks later**

"Logan?"

"Leave me alone."

Jean Grey stood in the doorway, watching her close friend with sad eyes. It had been almost three weeks since the attack on Professor Charles Xavier by Henry Peter Gyrich, a man obsessed with ridding the world of what was coming to be known as the 'Mutant Menace', and a little more than two weeks since the Shi'ar Empress Lilandra took him to receive advanced medical care on her alien home world. Jean wouldn't have doubted if Logan had not slept more than an hour at a time since the first event. She certainly hadn't.

They stood on one of the lower levels of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. It was a place that, as of late, had housed mixed emotions by many frustrated souls, and the main one being a question of what to do next.

Logan waited impatiently for Jean to leave so the Danger Room's program would start up again.

"Logan," Jean tried again, "please talk to me."

"Don't feel much like talkin'," he stiffly shook his head. _Fighting the Danger Room's holograms is better therapy than talkin'll ever be_, he thought, knowing Jean would be listening._ I tried talkin' to the Professor; look where that got me. He's gone, and I'm alone. Nobody here can help me with that._

Jean bit her lower lip as Logan's thoughts echoed in her mind. Of all the other X-Men, she was most worried about him. Xavier's teachings and understanding had calmed his tortured soul. Would he be able to keep himself under control without the Professor's help? She wasn't sure if she understood what he felt, but she knew he had to sort some things out by himself.

"If you change your mind," she replied quietly. "I'm always here for you." Then she turned and left, the door closing behind her.

"I know, Jeanny," Logan mumbled as the holograms re-appeared. "I know."

* * *

"Where's Wolverine?" Scott Summers, known better as Cyclops, demanded as Jean walked into the War Room. As the leader of the X-Men, Cyclops had taken up Xavier's mantle of teacher and mentor in an attempt to keep some semblance of control over the pending emotional chaos. Predictably, it had not worked as well as hoped.

"He's in the Danger Room," she replied.

"Well, get him up here. We still have our duties whether he likes it or not. Mutant riots have gone up ten percent, even without Magneto leading them."

"Scott, I don't think he's ready-"

"Jean, I _don't_ want to hear it," Cyclops said slowly, the stressful anger evident in his voice. "He's still an X-Man and as long as I'm in charge, he'll act like it! I'm not having him go AWOL on us just because he can't handle the current situation!"

"Take it easy, _mon ami_," Remy LeBeau, or Gambit, tried to calm him down while exchanging a worried look across the table with the enigmatic Southern Belle known only as Rogue. "Wolverine will come aroun' if you jus' give him da time."

"We don't _have_ time to waste, Gambit," Cyclops snapped. "Magneto wasn't the only mutant megalomaniac likely to begin a revolution. We've got to act before the mutant race calls for another leader."

"They're afraid, Scott," Jean said. "Most believe that if humanity can target someone like the Professor, the most normal-looking a mutant can be, then there is no hope for those whose mutations have manifested a more physical presence."

"Of course they're afraid," Cyclops replied. "That's why I am _trying_ to maintain some sense of order _here_!"

"Well, y'all ain't bein' very leader-like about it, the way Ah see it," Rogue interjected.

"_Rogue-_"

"Ah don' need ta take this," she shook her head, standing up. "Call me if y'all stop actin' like some spoiled l'il brat!" She stormed out of the room with Gambit close behind.

Jubilee watched them go, squirming in her seat as she suddenly felt very awkward. Her first instinct was to go with them, but she didn't want Cyclops to go ballistic on her as well.

"Oh dear," Hank McCoy, or Beast, rubbed his blue, furry chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps if would be best to issue a brief recess in this meeting until emotions are slightly more controlled?"

"We don't have much choice when two teammates decide that they can leave whenever they feel like it and three don't think it important enough to attend a meeting, do we?" Cyclops threw up his hands in frustration and stormed out of the room. Jean watched him go with a frown on her face. Though she disagreed with his view of the situation, her love for her husband was as strong as ever and her first instinct was to follow him.

The door opened again as Storm and Morph entered the room, looks of bewilderment on their faces.

"I was beginning to think we missed the meeting," Morph chuckled. "There seems to be a steady stream of X-Men from this room."

"It appeared that Cyclops was especially upset," Storm nodded. "What was the matter?"

"The same thing that's the matter with _everyone_ else around here!" Jubilee crossed her arms. "The world is going _crazy_ and there's nothing we can do about it! Well _this_ mall babe knows where she belongs when things go berserk. Maybe the arcade's got a new game since yesterday." She stood up and left the room as well.

"I would attempt to comfort her," Beast said. "But one of her beloved electronic games is more likely to have a higher success rate. I believe it is in young Jubilation's best interest to get some fresh air to vent her frustrations."

"If only it were so easy for Logan," Jean shook her head. "He would not let me talk to him. I'm worried that he may be considering leaving."

"I'll talk to him, Jeanny," Morph assured her.

"Thank you, Morph," she smiled. "In the meantime, I'd better check on Scott. Hopefully I'll be able to calm _him_ down."

* * *

Cyclops slammed the door to his quarters behind him and walked to the window. The sun was setting on the horizon, casting streaks of crimson and lavender across the darkening sky. Far below, he could see Rogue and Gambit walking down the mansion's driveway with Jubilee running to catch up with them.

"I'm losing them, Professor," he directed his words to the sky. "I'm not the leader that I thought I could be. I don't know how to keep things under control." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "How are we supposed to continue what you trained us to do, to work together, if we can't even all be in the same room together?"

He waited, as if he expected an answer. When none came, he folded his arms on the windowsill and lay his head down on top.

So many thoughts swirled inside Cyclops's head; so many things that he was having a hard time working out. Everything had seemed to be going so well, and then one unexpected attack by one son-of-a-bitch human rights activist and the Professor had lain so close to death.

To make matters worse, he and the other X-Men had stood helpless at his bedside, watching him slip away. And the only one who had been able to come to Xavier's aid and help him contact Lilandra had been Magneto, a mutant who considered their race of _Homo sapiens superior_ to be destined to inherit, if not seize the world from baseline humans. He was perhaps their greatest enemy, but also a man who considered Xavier to be his only equal and even an estranged friend.

This was probably the worst pain for Cyclops over everything else. It should have been he who was to help the Professor.

"You were like a father to me," he said, his stomach tightening. "And I couldn't do anything..." His voice trailed off as his throat tightened.

"Scott?" Jean's voice reached him from the doorway. He didn't move. "Scott, please don't beat yourself up over this. It is _not_ your fault. The others-"

"Are under my command and I am supposed to be able to keep things under control," he cut her off. "You heard Rogue. How can I be a leader if I can't act like one?"

"You were put in this position very suddenly," Jean tried to reason with him. "While you've always been our leader, you've always had the Professor to count on for guidance. Nobody expects you to be able to run everything smoothly right now."

"What do I do then?"

Jean moved closer to him and comfortingly laid her hand on his back. "Give it time. Give everyone time to come to terms with the situation. They'll come back when they're ready."

Cyclops sighed, realizing that she was right. He couldn't force opinions on them. They had to choose to remain on the team. He turned around and held her close. She was his strength; his voice of reason. "I just wish I could know if he's proud of me."

"Of course he is."

* * *

"Gambit! Rogue! Wait up!"

The two mutants turned to see Jubilee running to catch up with them. "What is it, _petite_?" Gambit asked.

"I didn't wanna stay _there_ any longer than I had to," the young girl explained.

"Well, i's all right if you come wit us, _n'est-ce pas,_ _chère_?" Gambit directed his question to Rogue, who was not paying attention to either of them. "You okay, _chère_?"

"Wha?--Ah dunno, Remy," Rogue shook her head. She folded her arms and stared, trance-like, up at the sky. "Ah feel somethin' Ah haven't felt in a long time...Ah need ta be alone for a while." Rogue flew off toward the city without another word.

"Where's she going?" Jubilee wrinkled her nose.

"She'll be okay, _petite_," Gambit assured her, though he was slightly worried. "So how 'bout Gambit take you ta see a movie, _non_?"

"Sounds great."

* * *

It was nearing the midnight hour when anybody walking on the harbour and listening carefully would have heard a swear word hissed into the darkness. If that had been the case, then the young guard who was the culprit would have been severely reprimanded for arousing suspicion upon his team's hidden base. Luckily for him, the surrounding area was deserted, and the concealed headquarters of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants remained undiscovered.

In what had once been a cargo storage for ships on the harbour, now abandoned due to partial flooding, John Allerdyce, the young mutant known as Pyro for his ability to manipulate fire, had awakened with a start, and had kicked the hard rock wall in the process. He had failed in suppressing the urge to swear at it and now hoped that nobody else within the base had heard and guessed that he'd fallen asleep on guard duty.

"Stupid bloody graveyard shift," the thin, blond man muttered to himself in a thick Australian accent. Normally he was not abject to the midnight watch when he was in the company of a certain female. She, however, was away on a mission of her own, and he was left in a foul mood. He leaned back against the wall and shut his eyes.

They snapped back open again immediately, and Pyro listened intently, waiting for the sound to come again. It did, and it was a rustling near the concealed entrance to the base. He furrowed his eyebrows. It didn't sound as though someone was just stumbling along the shore while going for a walk. No, it sounded more like someone was methodically picking their way through the brush as if they _knew_ where the entrance was hidden. That could only mean one thing.

"They're back," Pyro grinned to himself, and stood up as a shadow spilled through the doorway. "Welcome back, my love," he greeted.

"That had better not have been meant for me," Sabretooth snarled as he squeezed through the small entranceway.

"I bloody well hope not either, mate," Pyro tried to sound as reassuring as he could. "You're not my type."

Sabretooth narrowed his eyes angrily and Pyro stood up as straight and tall as he could, standing his ground. It was a clear challenge of dominance, and one that had been issued many times between the two men.

"Calm the testosterone down, please," the voice was a welcome one to Pyro, and he sighed in relief as the slender figure entered the cave.

"It was meant for _her_, mate," Pyro smirked, knowing that Sabretooth wouldn't touch him with Nadia in the room. "Now, bugger off."

The big mutant snarled one last time in the smaller one's direction and stomped off deeper into the cave. Pyro watched him go, and then walked over to the girl.

"Nadia, my love, you're a sight for sore eyes," he said, tightly embracing her.

"My little firefly missed me?" she asked playfully. Their lips met in a passionate kiss. "The weather in Russia was _very_ cold," Nadia's green eyes conveyed the undertone.

"Then allow me to turn up the heat," Pyro grinned and kissed her again.

"Are you two finished with your sodding, God-awful puns, or should I come back later?"

They turned to see a short, spiky-haired green-skinned mutant watching them with a smirk on his face.

"Good to see you too, Toad," Nadia smiled warmly. "Come to welcome me back home?"

"That, and ask which one of you pissed off Sabretooth," Mortimer Toynbee, or Toad, grinned. "Seein' the beaten look on that big bastard's face absolutely made my day."

"Joint effort, mate," Pyro nodded understandingly.

"My compliments."

"And mine to you on your scrambling device," Nadia said. "It worked perfectly, as did your hacking of the security cameras." Todd nodded knowingly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to give my status report," Nadia announced, and kissed Pyro once more before pulling away and disappearing down the corridor.

Both men watched her go, and Toad turned to Pyro. "Lucky bastard," he grinned.

* * *

The blue-skinned mutant metamorph known as Mystique watched as Nadia Molotova confidently entered her quarters, the room where she called all of her meetings. Sabretooth was already there, still sporting a sour scowl. As Nadia moved next to Sabretooth, she saluted her leader with a wink. Mystique rolled her pure white eyes. It annoyed her that Nadia refused to take life as seriously as she did herself. Having personally trained Nadia in combat and espionage, Mystique had hoped that she would be as cold and calculating as her mentor. While the girl was certainly ruthless, she allowed herself a childish tendency toward mischief shared by her peers that Mystique was sure would prove to be a liability.

"At ease," she frowned and Nadia dropped the salute.

"Mission accomplished," Nadia relayed contently. "The Russian missile base and weapons facility has been secured."

"And all personnel are absent and _un_accounted for," Sabretooth was the only one who smiled at his own morbid sense of humour; Nadia simply snorted at the lame attempt.

"Excellent," Mystique clapped her hands together. "Everything is going according to plan."

A look passed between the two females that Sabretooth did not catch. And as Mystique dismissed him, Nadia remained behind.

"No more than five minutes after your return and already Sabretooth is furious," Mystique began. "Who was it this time?" Nadia's attempt to conceal her smile betrayed her silence. "Pyro. Why am I not surprised? He and Toad cause more trouble than anyone I've ever worked with...and I don't suppose you tried to stop him?" Mystique added as an afterthought.

"Perhaps it is Sabretooth that is the problem, Mystique," Nadia chose to play defiant. "It is no secret as to why the father of your second-born is on this team."

"Sabretooth is a valuable asset to our cause," Mystique let the comment slide. "He is agile-"

"So is Toad."

"He has military training-"

"As do you and I."

"He is very powerful-"

"We have Blob for that area."

Mystique frowned, trying to find another point to bring up. "He shares a past with Wolverine that gives us an advantage over the X-Men."

"Yes, because it is _hard_ to cause the Wolverine to lose self control?"

Mystique sighed deeply and slid her hand through her dark red hair. This was an old argument that rarely ended favouring Sabretooth. "The point is, now that Magneto has vanished and abandoned his role in leading a mutant uprising, we are mutantkind's last hope. We must defend our weaker brothers and sisters, and, well, we need all the help we can get."

Nadia's eyes mirrored her triumph, and she allowed a half-smile to cross her face. "That was all you had to say, you know."

"Thank you, Nadia," the shapeshifter replied, relieved that the overall feeling was mutual. "We will never be one big, happy family, but we can at least accept each other's presence."

"You can count on me, Mystique," the Russian girl added. "I'll keep the boys under control. And in return, I expect to be able to do some field work. This city is going to know that Velocity is back, and those mutant-hating scum are going to pay for what they pulled."

Mystique nodded understandingly. The girl's hatred for humankind ran deep, and that was why she was chosen as the Brotherhood's second-in-command. "I think we can come to some kind of an arrangement."

* * *

Gambit and Jubilee silently crept into the mansion, returning from the movie theatre. It was after one in the morning, and if Cyclops had been _that_ irritable before, they weren't overly anxious to run into him now.

Luckily, it was the vastly more understanding Storm whom they ran into instead.

"Did you two have an enjoyable evening?" she asked.

"Played some vids and caught a double feature," Jubilee grinned. "Loads of fun, but I think I'm ready for some shut-eye," the young girl yawned, stretching her arms over her head. "Catch you guys later, and thanks again, Gambit!" Storm and Gambit wished her goodnight as she walked down the hall.

"Has Rogue return'd yet?" Gambit asked Storm.

"I am afraid not, my friend," she replied, motioning for him to walk with her as they spoke. "As you know, Gambit, these are hard times."

"Gambit knows dis, _chère_. Gambit has seen many hard times before."

"Not only for us, but for the world," Storm shook her head. "Truly, Magneto may not have been the only one attempting to arrange an uprising."

"Dere be many players out dere. You t'ink dat more of our ol' friends gonna try somet'in'?"

"The more I think upon it the more I believe it to be certain," Storm nodded. "The attack on Professor Xavier by Henry Gyrich affected mutants all over the world. No matter what their beliefs on mutant-human relations, they are all in fear of their safety."

"Den we must stop dem, _non_? We be da good guys."

"It is not that simple. Those involved in the uprising believe themselves to be freedom fighters for mutant rights. They do not believe that they are doing anything wrong. And Beast is also worried that the Friends of Humanity may have played a role in the Professor's attack as well."

"Dis is much more complicated den Gambit would have liked, _chère_."

* * *

Jean Grey sat deep in concentration, psionically connected with Cerebro through the helmet she wore. She knew that she should sleep; that she should save her strength. There was something troubling her, however. It was something that she and Cerebro had found for only a split second nearly two weeks ago. Several distractions had occurred and she hadn't been able to re-locate the mutant source. The others had dismissed it as just another riot, but Jean had felt a presence that led her to believe it was something more.

Now, with Scott asleep and everyone else off on their own, Jean stretched every inch of her powerful mind to once again locate the source of mutant energy that was the cause of her worry. She scanned the part of northern Russia, where the signal had originated.

"_There is no mutant activity in the specified vicinity_," Cerebro informed her in the Professor's voice.

An idea entered Jean's mind and she changed her strategy. "Cerebro, enhance PSI-scan," she ordered. "Activate Sentinel technology. Find any trace of past mutant activity and cross-reference with mutant files. I want to identify the source immediately."

Jean and Cerebro worked as one, and a moment later she had the answer.

"_Mutant DNA isolated_," Cerebro voiced the results. "_There were two mutant entities in the specified location during that time period_."

"Analyze."

Cerebro took a moment to scan the mutant files for a match. Two holographic projections appeared before Jean, portraying two destructive mutants and their statistics.

"_DNA match_," Cerebro confirmed. "One: _Graydon Creed Sr_. Mutant Name: _Sabretooth_. Two: _Nadia Molotova_. Mutant Name: _Velocity_."

A dark feeling came over Jean and her stomach tightened. She removed the helmet as Cerebro went on to describe the mutants' past crimes, and turned in the swivel chair to find Morph standing in the doorway, a worried expression on his face.

"So, what's going on, Jeanny?" he asked her.

"This is the location of an old Russian missile base," Jean explained. "Two weeks ago, when I picked up the mutant signal, it was full of people. Now, enhanced satellite scans tell me that it is deserted, but there have been no reports of any accidents that would cause them to abandon it."

"So what do Sabretooth and Velocity have to do with it?"

"Morph, I think they killed them all."

* * *

Henry Gyrich payed the driver without a word, stole a suspicious glace at the man from behind his tinted sunglasses, and then stepped out of the taxi. He walked slowly to the entrance of the building while muttering to himself about the probability of the driver being another filthy, disgusting mutant. Gyrich had been released on bail after three weeks in prison due to the belief that Charles Xavier had been fine after the attack. In reality, Morph had been playing the Professor's role, but that was knowledge Gyrich was not privileged to have and would have paid to get.

Gyrich rang the buzzer, and the surveillance camera above the door focused on him. "_Password_?"

"Mankind sent me," Gyrich replied without hesitation.

The door clicked open and Gyrich walked inside and down the long, dark hallway to the double doors at the end. He pushed them open, and a spotlight shone on him as a hush ran through the room.

"Welcome back, Mr. Gyrich," one of the voices at the front of the room greeted him.

"It's good to be back," he smirked, walking confidently to the front. The Head Council, five blue-hooded men, sat at the stand. An enormous banner hung on the wall behind them adorned with the familiar, three-lettered insignia: F. O. H.

"You have done well and pleased the council in exposing the mutant Charles Xavier to the public."

"Yes, unfortunately the device was destroyed," Gyrich shook his head.

"Will you be able to construct more?"

"It will take some time," Gyrich nodded. "But with the proper funding I'm sure that I could manage it."

"Excellent."

* * *

Two men wearing hats and dark coats emerged from the alley across the street. The first was a well-built younger man with dark, cautious, brooding eyes. The second was a taller man with a build resembling a semi truck. They had been following Gyrich since he had left his court hearing.

"Are we following him inside, Avalanche?" the bigger one asked the smaller one.

"Not a chance, Blob," Avalanche shook his head. "Mystique told us to find out where the Friends of Humanity's new headquarters was located, not to barge right into mutant-hater central. This ain't no suicide mission. And if it was, you wouldn't find me on it."

Lance Alvers and Fred Dukes, longtime members of Mystique's Brotherhood, and better known to the X-Men and the police records as Avalanche and the Blob, respectively, waiting a moment to see if anyone else would arrive at or emerge from the building. Avalanche clenched his teeth at the thought of the men inside, and as he did the smallest wave of seismic energy rippled through the concrete, though it was an insignificant display compared to the true strength of the power we wielded.

"Right, so what do we do then?" Blob inquired, never the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Avalanche pulled his hat lower over his face. "We go home and report it."

* * *

Rogue sat on the roof of a building, staring up at the stars. She felt closer to Xavier up here, and something told her that she would need his strength to get through the next few days. Something was troubling her about Cyclops' suggestion that another mutant would take Magneto's discarded mantle of leader in the uprising, and she hoped to God that her suspicions were wrong.

The building shook ever so slightly, but it was enough to bring Rogue out of her thoughts. The tremors came closer and the building shook harder.

"What in the world-" Rogue scrunched up her nose. She peered over the side of the building and saw two darkly-clothed men exit an alley. One of them, the enormous one, was causing the tremors.

"Avalanche and Blob? What in Tarnation are _they_ doin' out here?" She watched them for a moment as they hurried down the street. A thought occurred to her: if Blob and Avalanche were around, then so was Pyro, and probably Mystique. And that meant that her suspicions were correct after all.

Rogue waited until the two mutants were a bit further away, and then flew after them.

* * *

Graydon Creed Jr. sat, huddled, in the corner of the dark, damp room that served as his makeshift cell. Water droplets fell from the collected moisture on the walls and ceiling soaked into his stringy brown hair.

The silence was literally deafening for Creed, as there were no other sounds to drown out the accusing voices in his head.

_You brought the stain of Sabretooth into our lives!_

"No!" Creed shook his head violently. "I-I didn't! I'm not like him!"

_Well, well,_ he heard Sabretooth's voice. _If it ain't my son, the famous slayer of mutants_.

"Shut up!" Creed screamed. "You are _not_ my father! I'm _not_ like you! I'm _not _a mutant!"

_The corruption of your blood does not end with Sabretooth,_ he heard the Head Council again. _Your family tree bears much poisonous fruit_.

"No-"

_I bore two children_, he heard Mystique's voice.

_You are my brother?_ asked Nightcrawler.

_Ah dunno what you're playin' at, mama_, Rogue's voice resonated in his head.

_Nice move, sis_, came his own voice, directed at Rogue.

_She's Nightcrawler's mama!_ Rogue spoke again. _And Creed's mama too!_

_Come to papa,_ taunted Sabretooth.

"Get away from me! Get out of my head! Leave me alone!" Creed's screams turned to sobs, and he huddled tighter into the corner.

* * *

Velocity, Pyro and Toad were gathered again in the front room, awaiting their dismissal to return to their homes. A unanimous grin spread across their faces as they listened to Creed's screams. Bringing him here after the Friends of Humanity had dumped him as punishment for failure in Sabretooth's lap was the only good idea for which they ever credited the big mutant. Torturing prisoners was so much fun on those slow, boring nights.

"Well, my love," Pyro grinned at Velocity. "You've got the inside scoop on Mystique's plans. What's the next move?"

"We've got to wait until Avalanche and Blob return," she replied. "They're on an espionage assignment to locate where the Friends of Humanity have been hiding."

"Try under the nearest rock," Toad scoffed.

* * *

Rogue watched from high above as Avalanche and Blob waded through the murky waters along the harbour's shore. She arched her eyebrow in confusion; it looked as though they were searching for something. _But what the heck can they be looking for out here_? she thought.

She slowly flew as close as she dared to get a better look. Blob wasn't the brightest person she'd ever met, but Avalanche knew better than to do anything before checking to see if he'd been followed.

As predicted, Avalanche turned to look over his shoulder, scanning everything that he could see - including the sky. Rogue tried her best to stay out of the moonlight, and watched intently as he motioned to Blob. The enormous mutant moved a pile of brush and entered the previously hidden base.

* * *

"Freddie!" Pyro greeted the Blob as he entered the room. "How are ya?"

"Walking through the muck really sucks," Blob griped. "When are we taking control of the city so I can get through a day without getting my socks wet?" He stomped off.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking!" Pyro called sarcastically after him and Toad snickered.

Avalanche then entered, and bore troubled expression on his face. Velocity noticed it first.

"Lance?" she raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

He turned to her and shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think somebody followed us here, but I couldn't see anyone."

Toad's eyes narrowed. "I bet Xavier's tracking us with his mind powers," he waggled his fingers around his head for emphasis.

"You saw him on TV, Morty," Pyro shook his head. "My guess is Xavier's more worried about keeping the _currently_ revolting mutants in check."

"Jean Grey, then."

"It wasn't like I was being watched like that," Avalanche shook his head. "More like somebody hiding in the darkness. I swear I saw a shadow a couple of times."

"All right," Velocity stood up. "Toad, take the emergency route and swim out to the weeds. Pyro, watch the main entrance. I'll scan the perimetre."

"I'd better report to Mystique," Avalanche realized. "I know Blob won't remember to do it." Toad and Pyro left, and he stopped Velocity before she could do the same. "When did you get back, Nadia?"

"About two hours ago."

"And you didn't see anything?" She shook her head. "Damn it. That means we were followed from the city. I wonder how much they saw."

"If they're stupid enough to have stuck around, they won't be around long enough to tell anyone their findings," Velocity assured him, and sped away.

* * *

Rogue crept along the harbour shore, hoping Avalanche wouldn't decide to take a second look around. She inched her way toward the entrance, hoping to get an idea of what was going on.

"_Rogue? Where are you_?"

The sound of Morph's voice startled her, and she hoped she wasn't heard as she tapped her communicator.

"Keep it down, Morph, y'all are gonna get me caught," she whispered as loud as she dared.

"_Sorry_," his voice was quieter. "_Where are you_?"

"Ah followed Avalanche and Blob to the harbour," she told him, inching closer again. "They've got a hidden base here."

"_Avalanche and Blob are around_?" Morph sounded grim. "_Oh man, Jean, this is worse than you thought_."

"What do ya mean, kid? Jean, you there? What's goin' on?"

"_Rogue_," it was Jean, "_I think you'd better come back here and take a look at this. If I'm right, you're in way over your head right now_."

The Mississippi-born mutant noticed a dark shape swimming fluently in the murky water toward a weeded area. Her attention was then diverted to a sharp noise originating at the base entrance, as if a small rock had been kicked into the brush...someone was approaching.

"Yah," she breathed into her comm. "Ah think Ah've overstayed ma welcome."

She quickly retreated, keeping in the shadows and hopefully out of anyone's view, and flew into the air once she felt she was at a safe distance. She frowned to herself as the odd feeling in her stomach returned.

* * *

"I didn't see anything," Toad climbed out of the water, shaking the wetness from his green hair. "How about you, Aussie?"

"Not a bloody thing, mate," Pyro shook his head. "But something had to be there to get Avalanche so spooked."

"Well, it isn't there now."

Pyro looked around, eyebrow raised. "Where's Nadia?"

* * *

Nadia stood on top of the hill that raised off the harbour shore, staring inquisitively into the night sky. She had seen something on her perimetre run (which had lasted about six seconds). It had only been a glimpse, but it made her slightly nervous. She hadn't liked the idea of a spy in the first place, but she was now extra edgy.

The figure had been easy for her to recognize; a shadow from her past complete with skunk-streaked hair. The appearance had just put a whole new twist on her current mission. The upcoming task would not be easy.

* * *

"What if whatever it was out there caught Nadia, and-"

"Toad, think about what you're saying," Pyro cut him off. "Nobody _catches_ my Nadia." As he finished his sentence, Velocity walked through the cave door. "There, what'd I tell ya, mate?"

"What happened out there, Nadia?" Toad raised an eyebrow. "_You_ should have gotten back before _us_."

"Somebody _was_ here," she replied, becoming angry. "And I know who."

"Who?" Pyro and Toad asked in unison, but Velocity was already headed toward Mystique's office.

"Mystique!" Velocity snarled as she entered the room. The sudden burst startled Avalanche, who had been leaning backwards in his chair, and he lost his balance.

"What the-?" he managed to say before he and his chair crashed into the floor.

Mystique turned curious eyes on the girl, and then turned to the man sprawled on the floor. "Lance," she began.

"Yeah, yeah, I can see myself out," he muttered, pushing himself to his feet. "I get it."

As he left, Mystique motioned for Velocity to approach. "What on earth is the matter?" she asked.

"Rogue was here," Velocity hissed, teeth clenched in fury.

Mystique's eyes went wide, and she quickly turned away. "I was going to tell you-"

"Tell me what? You were just going to call me in one day and say, 'Hey, remember all those years ago when I told you that your sister was dead? Well, I lied.' Is that it? How many more lies have you fed me, _mother_?"

"You don't understand-"

"I return from a top secret mission, only to hear that the one I was closest to in the only real family I have ever known was driven insane after Ms. Marvel's psyche literally _destroyed_ her, and she had committed suicide. You're right; I _don't_ understand how you could have thought I wouldn't find out the truth! Is that why you had me on all those espionage missions after that? So I wouldn't be around to find her still alive? Where has she been?"

"She joined the X-Men."

"And you didn't want me in the public eye where we might meet up."

"I had to protect you," Mystique's voice was barely audible.

"From what?" Velocity was outraged, her voice raising an octave. "From finding out that she actually had a mind of her own?"

When Mystique did not reply, Velocity turned and stormed to the door.

"Nadia-"

"Save it, Mystique. I don't need any more of your _protection_ from the outside world."

As she walked out the door, Mystique sank down into her chair, allowing the threatening pool of tears to spill down her blue cheeks.

* * *

Rogue walked through the hallways of the Xavier Institute, heading toward the War Room. The doors slid open, revealing the grim faces of Jean, Morph, Gambit, Storm, and Wolverine.

"Y'all look like the family dog jus' died," Rogue commented upon entry. "What's goin' on?"

"Have a look," Jean replied, typing something on the panel in the centre of the room. The holograms of Sabretooth and Velocity that Cerebro had generated from the mutant files appeared on the circular tabletop.

Rogue stared in disbelief. "Ah-Ah don't get it," she shook her head. "Y'all didn't call me back jus' ta take a gander at these two noodleheads, did ya?"

"Wouldn't be my first pick for a good time," Wolverine commented, scraping his adamantium claws against each other.

"I'm afraid not, Rogue," Jean replied, ignoring Wolverine's comment, though Gambit and Morph stifled a snicker. "I believe that Sabretooth and Velocity are responsible for an incident which occurred two weeks ago in Russia; one that left no human survivors."

"But that _can't _be right!" Rogue protested. "Nadia's _dead_!"

"It's true that she's been gone for many years, Rogue," Storm raised an eyebrow. "But we have never found any reason, beyond what you claim Mystique to have told you upon your departure from the Brotherhood, to believe that she had, well-"

"Met her maker?" Morph finishing for her.

"No, y'all don' understand," Rogue backed up a step. "Ah _know_ she's dead. Ah..." she trailed off, staring sadly at the hologram. "Mama wouldn't have lied. An'…she would have contacted me," she whispered.

"What you mean, _chère_?" Gambit asked, concerned for her.

"Nadia would have contacted me," she frowned, then hurried from the room.

"She get outta here wit a purpose," Gambit was still looking at the door. "Gambit tink she gonna go find her _mère_, an' den get da truth."

"Uh, then maybe someone should follow her? Mystique's never around without the Brotherhood close by."

"Gambit is way ahead of you, _mon ami_," the Cajun was already headed out the door.

* * *

"I can't believe that she told you she was dead," Pyro shook his head. "Mystique told us not to mention Rogue after you got back, but I thought...well, I dunno what I thought."

"That we were to forget about her, I guess," Toad added.

"She said you'd all taken it hard," Velocity frowned.

"Dirty trick," Toad shook his head.

"Aye, come 'ere, Nadia," Pyro pulled her into his arms and squeezed. "It was a long time ago."

"It doesn't make it okay."

"Yeah, but what can you do? It's not as if you can knock on the front door of the Xavier Institute and catch up on old times, is it?"

Velocity was quiet for a moment, and then pulled away, looking Pyro in the eyes. "Well, why not?"

"Why not, what?"

"Why couldn't I go and talk to her?"

"Er, hang on a minute, love, we're talking about the _X-Men_ here."

"They aren't going to just sodding welcome you in with open arms," Toad sounded upset. "You're a bloody terrorist! You're their enemy!"

"Well it's not as if I'm arming nukes or blowing up buildings!"

"Not yet!" they replied together.

"They don't know that and I don't care," she shook her head. "I've got to talk to her."

Before Pyro or Toad could protest any further, Nadia was gone.

* * *

The day that she had discovered that Nightcrawler and Graydon Creed were her step-brothers, Rogue could remember Mystique curiously omitting Nadia as she listed her children. This wouldn't have been so odd had Rogue known that she was alive; Mystique would just have been protecting her. The situation, however, had been quite different. Rogue had thought Velocity to be dead, so she had wondered why Mystique had kept quiet on the subject. She had brushed it off as grief, or a repressed memory, but now...

"Ah can't believe she lied," Rogue mumbled to herself, as she flew full speed back to the water's edge.

As she hovered in the air above the harbour, Rogue silently watched a familiar figure burst from the base entrance and, in a streak of colour and flying dust, speed across the land toward the city.

* * *

"Maybe I'd better go after her," Pyro said aloud, and walked toward the exit. He stumbled backward upon reaching the opening, clutching his nose, hot blood spilling down into his mouth and all over his chin.

"Bloody hell!" Toad exclaimed. "What happened?"

"She broke my goddamn nose!" Pyro shrieked.

"Who?"

"Rogue!"

As he said her name, Rogue walked inside, punching her fist into her open palm. "That's right, an' maybe y'all want one too, frog-boy?"

"I'm leaning towards no, but thanks anyways," Toad backed off.

"_Bitch_," Pyro spat through the blood in his mouth.

"Watch it, Aussie, or Ah'll add a black eye to your list of facial improvements."

"What the hell do you want?" Toad demanded.

"What makes y'all think that Ah ain't here jus' ta knock ya 'round for awhile, ta get ma kicks?"

"Hark, do I hear the old Rogue in that threat?" Toad returned, realizing in full that he was risking getting his ass kicked.

"Besides, you would've done it already if you didn't want anything," Pyro growled.

"Y'all better not give me a reason ta change ma mind, then," she winked at them, angering Pyro further. "Ah wanna talk ta Mystique."

"Don't know what you're talkin' about," Pyro snapped.

"Well, let's see if'n Ah can't help ya remember." She grabbed and lifted Pyro by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Pyro glanced helplessly at Toad after realizing that he did not have his flame thrower with him.

"I'm warning you, Rogue," Toad clenched his teeth, "let him go, now."

"Or you'll do what, half-pint? Beat me up?" she replied mockingly.

Toad scowled, bent his powerful legs, and leapt onto the wall above them. "I said, let him go," he repeated angrily, and shot out his long, green tongue, wrapping it around Rogue's wrist in an attempt to loosen her grip on his teammate. Instead, she wrapped her fingers around his tongue, yanked the small mutant right off the wall, and pinned him up beside Pyro.

"Now, whaddaya say, boys?" Rogue smirked. "Y'all startin' ta remember where Mystique's holdin' up?"

"I'm right here," the voice came from behind her. "Let them go, Rogue."

She complied, and they slid to the ground, coughing and sputtering. Rogue turned burning eyes on Mystique.

"Ah've got a bone ta pick with you, mama," she informed her.

"I'm sure you do," the metamorph scowled. "And I can't say that I wasn't expecting you. I know why you're here, Rogue, but however important it is to you, I _doubt_ that your sister will think it was worth breaking her boyfriend's nose over."

Rogue's anger with Mystique vanished for a moment, as she quickly cast an astonished look at Pyro, who was still sitting on the floor wiping blood from his face. She turned back to Mystique with a raised eyebrow, and received a nod in response to her silent question.

"Ew," was all she could say, and Pyro growled at her under his breath.

"Do you want to come to my office?" Mystique asked.

"Nah, y'all can tell me in front o' these two jokers, can't ya?" Rogue folded her arms, waiting to hear the truth.

* * *

"_Gambit, I've got a read on her position_," Jean's voice said over his comm. "_She's straight ahead; can you see anything unusual_?"

"What exac'ly is Gambit lookin' for?" he asked.

"_Rogue said they had a hidden base in the harbour_," Morph's voice told him. "_Does that help_?"

Gambit's red eyes twinkled as they fell on the disheveled brush revealing a partially hidden entrance. "Merci_, mon chère_," he grinned.

"_Excuse me_?" Morph sounded startled.

"Sorry, _mon ami_. Not you. Rogue leave a trail for Gambit to follow."

"_Good work, Cajun_," Wolverine's voice said. "_You almost make me proud. Now don't screw anything up_."

"Piece o' cake," Gambit replied, and headed to the base.

* * *

"I didn't know what to do!" Mystique shouted. "You were ready to leave, and I thought that by telling you that Nadia had died on a solo mission, you'd feel bad enough to stay!"

"Y'all jus' made it easier ta leave!" Rogue retorted. "Ah had no reason left ta hang around!"

"Oh, so we weren't good enough for you?" Pyro grumbled.

"Y'all never cared 'bout me," she shook her head.

"Can't argue with that," he sneered.

"Why you-"

"Rogue! Pyro! That's enough!" Mystique ordered.

"Fine, whatever," Pyro shook his head. "While you two have your bloody heart-to-heart, I'm going for a walk."

"Ditto," Toad nodded, getting up to follow.

Griping all the way, Pyro stomped toward the cave opening, only to once again be knocked backwards, hands clasped over his nose.

"_Shit_! What the hell is this?!" he howled, along with a few other words from the more colourful side of the English language.

"Ah hope y'all don' kiss ma sister with that mouth, Sugah," Rogue tried not to laugh as Gambit entered the cave. "Nice timin', Remy."

"What the hell is _he_ doin' 'ere?" Toad eyed Gambit warily as he ensured that he was out of striking distance. "Next thing we know, Cyclops is gonna barge in and blow this place sky high."

"Don' need Cyclops ta blow dis place," Gambit grinned, pulling three playing cards from his sleeve. Toad held his breath as they began to glow in Gambit's hand.

"Save somethin' for later, Sugah," Rogue winked at him, and then turned back to Mystique. "Ah'm warnin' ya now, mama. We're watchin' y'all now, an' if'n ya try _anythin'_ funny, we'll take y'all down so hard ya won't know what hit ya."

Mystique narrowed her eyes but did not reply, and watched Rogue leave with Gambit. When they were gone, Sabretooth emerged from the shadows behind her.

"What do you think?" she asked him.

"I think I'd like to get my claws on them instead of hiding like some chickenshit."

"They had no need to know that you're with us," she replied.

"Wait a bloody minute, mate, you were there the whole damn time?" Pyro was seething. "Why the hell didn't you lend a bloody hand?"

"I was enjoying the show too much to stop it," Sabretooth grinned evilly at Pyro.

"Why you big, ugly motherfucking-"

"Pyro!" Mystique interrupted the upcoming fight. "You and Toad are dismissed. Go home and clean yourself up. I don't need this right now."

Pyro took a deep breath and started toward the exit.

"Sure you wanna try the front door again, Aussie?" Sabretooth mocked and followed behind him. "Don't wanna tempt fate-" He put both clawed hands on the smaller mutant's back and pushed him forcefully toward the opening.

That was all that he could take, and Pyro lost control of his temper. He turned and lunged at the big man and drove a clenched fist into his jaw, catching him off-guard. He got a few more punches away before Sabretooth grabbed him around the throat and threw him across the room.

"Enough!" Mystique held up her hands, preventing a furious Sabretooth from following up and pummeling Pyro into a pile of goo with teeth. "Does anyone know where Velocity is?"

Toad helped Pyro to his feet and shook his head, not wanting to get one of his closest friends into trouble. Sabretooth, however, did not give a damn.

"She ran off to visit her long-lost sister," he smirked. "Too bad she jumped the gun by about five seconds. I would have _paid_ to see her reaction when this pipsqueak got his face rearranged."

"You son of a bitch!" Pyro exploded again, but Toad held him back from rushing Sabretooth.

Mystique clenched her teeth, trying to control her anger fueled by Velocity's rash decision and Sabretooth's incessant baiting of Pyro. "Listen, all of you!" she shouted, receiving everyone's attention. "I want these _issues_ you have with each other settled _very_ soon, but as for now, Sabretooth, I want you to find Velocity. Do everything you can to keep her from contacting Rogue. As for you two, I'll send for you when I've settled on a new COA."

"Let's go, Pyro," Toad said, casting a dark look at both Sabretooth and Mystique.

Pyro did not respond, but allowed Toad to lead him to the exit and locked eyes with Sabretooth as they passed him. Pyro's jaw quivered with his intense anger. When they were outside and they could no longer see each other, he let out the breath he'd been holding, and began to feel the multiple points of pain throughout his body.


	3. Best Laid Plans

It's All Relative

Chapter Two

Velocity crouched behind the bushes surrounding the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. She was beginning to realize that Pyro and Toad had been right in that this was a bad idea. The sight of the huge estate kept telling her that the sister she knew was gone, and that she should go back to the Brotherhood - back to the family that she still had, and the place where she had always belonged.

But she was stubborn, as she had been as long as anyone who knew her could remember. She glanced to the east at the slowly rising sun peaking over the horizon, and realized she had been debating her decision for long enough. Quickly, she climbed the fence surrounding the estate.

As soon as she touched the ground on the other side, however, the sound of alarms filled the air, and the mansion's defense guns emerged from the ground.

"_Shit_," Velocity breathed as one of the guns pointed directly at her. She rolled to the side as it shot, got up and raced between them, trying to think clearly. An idea came to her, and she ran behind one of the guns. The opposite gun fired, and she sped behind that one before the laser beam reached its target. The first gun shot, and the two guns exploded as the beams made contact.

* * *

"_Intruder alert! Intruder alert! All X-Men report in!_"

"Jean! What's going on?" Cyclops shouted into his comm over Cerebro's alarms.

"_Velocity is on the mansion grounds_," Jean replied. "_And she's neutralizing our defenses_!"

"Hear that, everyone?" Cyclops broadcasted through to all the X-Men. "Let's move!"

* * *

Velocity looked up from the smoldering remains of the guns as the rest of them sank back into the ground. The mansion door flung open, and she clenched her teeth as she watched the X-Men run outside.

"Alright, Velocity," Cyclops aimed his ruby-quartz visor at her. "You're outnumbered, so why don't you just surrender nicely, before anyone has to get _hurt_?"

"I didn't come here to pick a fight," she replied bluntly.

"That's a shame," Wolverine growled as his adamantium claws burst from the back of his hands. "Cuz I'm in the mood for a _real_ good fight."

Velocity narrowed her eyes and sized up each of her opponents. Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Morph, and a younger girl whom she did not recognize stood before her. Rogue, Gambit, and Jean Grey were nowhere to be seen (though she suspected that Jean was probably inside operating Cerebro). "Well, if you insist, tough guy," she taunted Wolverine. "Bring it on."

Wolverine snarled, and Cyclops put a hand on his shoulder, telling him not to attack...yet. "One last chance, Velocity," he warned her. "Either turn yourself over, or we do it for you."

"Not on your life, _Cyke_," she hissed back, and ran toward them.

Cyclops fired a beam of concentrated light from his visor, which Velocity easily dodged. Wolverine dove, claws out, at her form as she blew by, but he did not succeed in catching her, and ate dirt instead.

Velocity knew that her best bet was to keep moving. Nobody on their team could catch her, but they had their ways to beat her. There was no way that she could hide, because if Wolverine's nose didn't find her, Jean Grey with Cerebro would.

Another problem was the perimetre fence. Velocity couldn't get over it without stopping, and if she stopped, Cyclops would pick her off before she could get halfway over.

A quick glance ahead caught Beast swinging down from the nearest tree. Velocity cut a hard right to avoid the kick from his powerful legs.

She stopped abruptly and skidded on the slick grass as a ruby-red blast exploded a half-inch in front of her. She cast a nasty look at Cyclops, and as she prepared to run back the other way, another ruby-red blast exploded behind her, though the mutant she had been glaring at hadn't done it.

Velocity whipped her head around to see another Cyclops with a cocky grin on his face, and she knew it was Morph. The two of them had her blocked off from running either way, so she pivoted on the spot and ran straight up the middle, toward Morph.

Both X-Men got off a couple of blasts, but Velocity easily dodged them. As she came closer, Morph knew that there was no way he could get away fast enough if she had set her mind on hitting him.

"A little help here?" he asked frantically, morphing back into his true form.

"Storm! Take her out!" Cyclops shouted.

"With pleasure," Storm replied, and her eyes went white. "I summon the ferocious winds of the raging tornado!"

Velocity found herself slowing down, her legs straining to keep moving forward. She ducked down under the wind, and continued running, cutting through the rough air.

"_Shit_!" Morph cried, and tried to run, which proved quite difficult against the wind.

Velocity had Morph lined up, and suddenly heard a high-pitched whistling sound followed by an explosive pain in her chest. She was knocked off her feet, and the wind blew her back nearly forty feet. She plowed into the ground and lay still on the cool grass.

Storm allowed the winds to die down and Jubilee puffed out her chest. "The fearless Jubilee saves the day again," she smirked.

"Well done, Jubilation," Beast congratulated her.

"Quick thinkin', kid," Wolverine agreed.

Morph took a deep calming breath. "I owe ya one."

"All right everyone," Cyclops was relieved, but business-like as usual. "I want to know two things: Where are Rogue and Gambit, and is there _anything_ you might have heard that would have been the reason for our little visitor?"

"Who is she, anyways?" Jubilee shrugged. "Quicksilver's long lost, er, triplet?"

"You're lucky he wasn't here to hear you say that," Wolverine mused.

"Her name is Nadia Molotova, better known as Velocity, and she is an old nemesis of ours," Storm explained. "We haven't heard from her in quite some time. It had been a possibility that she had been killed many years ago on a secret mission while working for Mystique. Personally, I had hoped that she had turned over a new leaf and was living a peaceful life."

"That's wishful thinking, Storm," Cyclops scoffed. "Old habits die hard for scum like her."

"She did mention that she did not come here for a fight," Beast reminded him.

"That's true, Hank," Jean agreed with him, walking up behind the group from the mansion. "And I believe her."

"Jean-"

"No, Scott," Jean shook her head, cutting him off. "During the night, Rogue took off, presumably to find Mystique after reacting very strangely to news of Velocity's reappearance, and Gambit followed her. I've been trying to put this all together, and Velocity's arrival here without trouble on her mind seems to be the piece of the puzzle I've been missing."

"I think I see where you are going with this, Jean," Beast rubbed his chin. "Do you believe that, just as Rogue had thought Velocity had met her demise, Velocity had been led to believe that Rogue had suffered the same fate?"

"Not only do I believe it," Jean nodded, "I have her own thoughts as confirmation. While she has many mental defenses, first and foremost - and unblocked - on her mind is her intention to speak to the sister she presumed dead."

"Curiouser and curiouser," Beast stated.

"Well, no matter what her intentions were," Cyclops began again, "a mission of peace doesn't make up for past crimes. She is a cold-cut terrorist, likely still working for Mystique, and someone who just endangered this team."

"I hate to say it, Jeanny," Wolverine commented, "but I agree with the guy."

"Yeah, come on, Jean," Morph nodded. "She's a prime suspect for a major massacre that happened two weeks ago!"

"She sounds like bad news," Jubilee concluded.

"Darn tootin', kid," Morph nodded. "And I suggest that we take advantage of the fact that she's down and_ not_ running circles around us, and lock her up right now." Cyclops nodded his approval and Morph started toward her still form.

Jean sensed Velocity's return to a conscious state at the same time that Wolverine smelled the danger that his friend was in.

"Morph, don't!" he exclaimed, but a moment too late as Velocity sprang to her feet, wrapped one arm around his chest, pulled his gun out of the holster on his hip, and held it to the side of his head.

"Velocity, calm down and think about this," Jean tried to reason with her.

"No, Jean, _you_ think about this," she replied angrily, very near panic. "You all just tried to kill me, and you expect me to go along with whatever you say now?" She began to back up toward the gate.

"Nobody tried to kill you," Jean assured her.

"But if you hurt one hair on Morph's head," Wolverine snarled, "that'll change _real_ quick."

Velocity clutched Morph tighter and Jean cast an exasperated look at Wolverine. The last thing she needed when trying to reason with a cornered and armed enemy in a hostage situation was for him to _bait_ the captor.

"_I'll_ tell you what'll change real quick," Velocity shot back. "The number of X-Men left alive if any of you try anything funny. And that includes you, Chuckles," she hissed in Morph's ear.

"Nadia, please," Jean opted to use her real name, trying to give the impression that there were no sides right now; that they were all equal. "Tell me what you came here for."

"Where's Rogue?" she demanded.

Cyclops and Wolverine exchanged a stupefied look as Jean continued. "She isn't here right now."

Velocity glanced nervously from Jean to Wolverine, who still looked like he wanted to rip her throat out, and back again. "W-where is she then?"

"You should be _glad_ she ain't here," Wolverine couldn't keep his temper controlled. "Or you'da been laid out like yesterday's laundry."

"Logan!" Jean snapped at him, now fed up.

"Hey, um, could we maybe _not_ tick off the nice lady with the _gun_ to my head?" Morph called to him, feeling the gun's muzzle pressing harder into his temple.

"I would suggest listening to him," Velocity narrowed her eyes. "_I'm_ the one who decides whether he lives or dies today. I think it's safe to say that _I'm _calling the _shots_ here."

"Yes, you're right, so what is it you want?" Jean asked slowly.

"I _need_ to talk to Rogue, Jean," Velocity insisted.

"You can't talk to me?"

"Ha!" Velocity spat. "I'm not having you try any little mind games on me, making me believe your little insignificant peace missions are for the greater good. Mutantkind is taking their lives back into their own hands, X-Men, and you can tell Xavier that there's nothing any of you can do about it."

"Xavier-" Cyclops's face fell momentarily.

"Charles Xavier is gone, Nadia," Jean explained. "Lilandra of the Shi'ar Empire took him across the galaxies for medical help."

"But the broadcast-"

Morph slowly raised his hand, not wanting to startle her. "That would have been me."

"It's the reason Magneto has disappeared," Jean continued. "And it's why mutants must stop this war and make peace in his memory."

"No, Jean," Velocity shook her head. "If they hurt Xavier enough for him to need the Shi'ar's help, then mutants must work together to take this world from the control of those who dared do such a thing to him."

"No, that's not what-"

"Open the gate," Velocity did not let her finish, and gripped the gun tighter in case she was defied. She pressed her back up against the main gate and waited.

"Over my dead body," Cyclops had had enough.

"No, over _his_ dead body," she jerked her head toward Morph, "if you don't let me go."

"Let Morph go free first, Nadia," Jean tried to negotiate.

"Jean, terrorist negotiating is _not_ an option!" Cyclops informed her.

"Well, what would you rather do then, Scott?" Jean replied bluntly. "Have the death of a teammate on your hands because you were too stubborn to listen?"

Cyclops had no reply for that, remembering vividly that he'd already had Morph's death on his hands once in the past. Jean turned back to Velocity.

"You should listen to her more often, _Cyke_, but it doesn't make a difference," she called to them. "Because there is no way that I'm getting rid of my shield here before I have an exit so that you or that girl can have an open target for blasting practice. Now _open_ this gate!"

Wolverine's mind had drifted from the stalemate situation occurring next to him. He had caught a whiff of an all-to-familiar scent on the gentle breeze; a scent that made the hairs on his body stand on end. It was moving toward the spot where Velocity stood with Morph, on the other side of the gate. He looked up slowly and made eye contact with Morph. His mind raced, trying to think of a way to help his buddy before the situation went from bad to much, much worse.

Morph raised an eyebrow, trying to decipher what Wolverine was trying to tell him. His friend looked very worried, continually shifting his glance from him to the bushes outside the gate. If there was one thing Morph had learned from Wolverine over the years, it was to watch for signs of danger. He could see Wolverine subtly smelling the air, trying not to draw too much attention. Morph knew that there was something very wrong, and that if he didn't watch for Wolverine's signal to act, his life could be in very serious trouble.

Morph could feel Velocity's body trembling against his own. He momentarily wondered at the reason but then put it from his thoughts as he concentrated on waiting for Wolverine's signal.

* * *

Jean Grey knew the reason, for, at the moment, even while she continued to negotiate, she was inside Velocity's mind.

She had concealed herself to prevent detection, and had confirmed the earlier mental impression she had received that Velocity truly had come on a peaceful mission and had been lied to about Rogue's "death." The precarious situation in which she currently found herself with a gun to a hostage's head had never been the original goal. In fact, Jean learned she had never even considered it to be a possibility.

Digging further, Jean saw images of Mystique, Pyro, Toad, Avalanche, Blob, and Sabretooth. She sensed their team bond, but when she tried to find their plan, a door closed - Velocity's mental defenses had kicked in. Jean had been found out.

* * *

"You tried to trick me!" Velocity screamed, her body trembling with rage.

"I-I-"

"Morph!" Wolverine yelled, cutting Jean's stammering short, "now!" He charged at them.

Morph pushed Velocity's arm away and smashed his elbow into her chest, breaking her grip on him. She doubled over, winded, and heard the savage snarl behind her. There was an awful shrieking sound as the gate was torn from its hinges and swung over her, catching Morph on the shoulder and sending him sprawling on the grass.

"One more step, runt," Sabretooth's gravelly voice addressed Wolverine, "and I finish the job on this little pipsqueak." Wolverine stopped in his tracks, and Sabretooth pulled Velocity to her feet. Gripping the gun tightly and aiming it at the X-Men, Velocity went to retrieve her hostage, and then winced in pain. The compound effect from Morph's elbow and the girl's blast had heavily bruised her ribs.

Sabretooth stepped forward and lifted a dazed Morph off of the ground by his throat. "Need a lift, too, girly?" he smirked at Velocity, holding out a clawed hand.

She glared at him spitefully. "I'm fine-" Her voice cut off abruptly as one hand left the gun and clutched her ribs.

Sabretooth caught her before she fell to her knees and lifted her over his shoulder. "You and your moron are a real perfect pair now, sweetheart," he commented mockingly, still keeping his eyes on Wolverine and the other X-Men.

Velocity didn't reply; she wasn't sure that she wanted to know.

"Listen up, X-Men," Sabretooth snarled. "Any of you get the bright idea to follow us, and all you'll find is your buddy's corpse. Got that?"

"Let him go, coward! Your fight is and always has been with me!" Wolverine's anger was raging.

"I got my orders, runt," Sabretooth laughed evilly. "Just because you stopped followin' 'em doesn't mean the rest of us did. So I'm takin' my partner and our insurance, and we're leavin' with no problem."

"If you hurt him, I swear I'll-"

"Just do as you're told, and he'll stay livin'."

And the X-Men watched helplessly as Sabretooth backed out of the hole where the gate used to be and disappeared into the bushes.

* * *

"What in Tarnation happened here?" Rogue exclaimed as she and Gambit returned to the Institute.

They stared in wonder at the mangled remains of the front gate, which now lay in the grass eight feet away from the fence. Two totaled defense guns were still smoldering at one side, and there were signs of struggle in multiple areas of the grounds.

"We miss a major training session or somet'ing?" Gambit raised an eyebrow.

"Ah don' think so, Remy," Rogue shook her head. "Something terrible's happened here, and Ah have a feeling Ah know what."

* * *

"What are we gonna do?" Wolverine roared, pounding his fists down on the War Room's table. "We have to find Morph!"

"We can't do anything until Rogue and Gambit get back with information on the whereabouts of their hideout," Cyclops replied.

"Stuff that idea," Wolverine shot back. "I'm goin' out and trackin' 'em down!"

"And risk Morph's life in the process?" Cyclops threw his hands in the air. "I can't let you do that!"

"We can't trust Sabretooth to keep his word!"

"As of right now, we have no other choice!"

"Cyclops is correct, Wolverine," Beast tried to calm his teammate down. "We have to assume that Morph is still alive, and decipher a strategy to safely retrieve him."

"What are y'all talkin' about?" Rogue asked upon entering the room with Gambit.

"Did you find where those creeps are holdin' up?" Wolverine asked, almost shouting.

"Ah found 'em, but what the hell's goin' on?" she tried to get a straight answer.

"Velocity and Sabretooth showed up here today," Jean explained, her face grave. "They kidnapped Morph."

"And she was looking for you," Jubilee added. "Now _that_ chick had some seriously messed up priorities."

Rogue's face fell, and her voice wavered slightly. "Y'all don' understand, kiddo," she shook her head. "She's my sister."

"That's it, I'm outta here. This is _too_ weird," Jubilee declared, marching toward the door. Gambit put a hand on her shoulder and she stopped.

"Ah'm sorry, everyone," Rogue continued, a tear forming in her eye. "It's my fault Morph's gone. Ah-Ah shouldn't've taken off like that."

"There was no way you could have known, Rogue," Storm comforted her friend. "But we mustn't dwell on the past. We must keep out heads set on the task at hand."

"Indeed," Beast nodded. "Does anybody have a _rational_-" at this point he glanced at Wolverine, "-plan?"

"You give Gambit da word, and he show you where day be hiding out," Gambit's red eyes glowed as he shuffled a deck of cards.

"It's too risky in broad daylight," Cyclops shook his head. "We can't take any chances on endangering civilians."

"Then we shall strike at dusk," Storm concluded.

Cyclops nodded approvingly. "In the meantime, everyone get some sleep. It's going to be a _long_ night, and I need everyone at full strength."

* * *

Wolverine stood in the doorway of his room, staring uncertainly at his bed. He'd almost forgotten what sleep was in these past two weeks; he'd gotten so little of it. And when he had dozed off, it had been a restless sleep, endlessly tossing and turning.

Morph's capture had almost driven him over the edge. He knew Cyclops was right; the guy was a natural-born leader, and he knew what was best for the team. But it made him crazy to feel so helpless, and the fact that Sabretooth was involved just made it worse.

Wolverine closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He had a deep respect for Storm, and today she'd once again reminded him why. She was right to say that everyone had to keep their minds on the task at hand, instead of dwelling on past mistakes.

He made his way over to a small mat on the floor in the corner of his room, thinking of the Professor. He'd taught - or tried to teach him how to keep his emotions under control in these situations. The best way to do that right now was something he'd learned during his years in Japan: meditation. He carefully lit a stick of incense, sat cross-legged on the mat, and began to clear his mind.

* * *

Avalanche, Blob, and Sabretooth stood in Mystique's office watching her pace. She was trying to sort out their dilemma: taking an X-Man for a hostage immediately pushed them out of the "non-threat" category where they'd hoped to hide out until the plan was set in motion.

"We're all ready, Mystique," Avalanche told her. "What's the problem with moving ahead of schedule?"

"It's not that, Lance," Mystique shook her head. "I'm worried about having those damn X-Men in our business now."

"There won't be anything that they can do to stop us once we get started," Sabretooth stated.

"But what if we can't _get_ started?" Mystique stopped pacing and looked at the three before her.

"I don't get it," Blob frowned.

"They know where we are located. They _will_ try to rescue Morph, and then they _will_ find out what we're up to and they'll ruin everything!" Mystique was clearly distressed about the whole thing.

"So let's move faster than they do, then," Avalanche offered his opinion.

"Yes, but how?" Mystique's eyes narrowed. She was overworked and completely out of ideas. Any help at all would be extremely appreciated.

"I've got an idea," Sabretooth said. "I'll take a squad and the hostages up to the nuke base, and you keep a squad here to keep the X-jerks busy."

Mystique bit her bottom lip, thinking for a moment. "It could work," she slowly nodded. "Yes, it's perfect. Where is Nadia?"

"I dropped her off at her place. She's resting with the idiot," Sabretooth replied, grinning as he remembered the injuries Pyro had sustained. "She mighta cracked a couple of ribs, but she should be fine."

"And how is Pyro?"

"Pfft, who cares?"

Avalanche glared darkly at Sabretooth, and Mystique rolled her eyes. "Alright, now listen," she ordered. "I want you to take Velocity and Pyro with you." Sabretooth didn't look impressed. "They're no good with me here if they can't fight yet," she urged. "And you'll need their help. And Toad - he'll need to be there to activate the satellite equipment. The four of you are the field squad."

"I'm going to get everything ready, then," Sabretooth grumbled, obviously displeased about being stuck with both Pyro _and_ Toad.

Mystique nodded, then resumed her orders. "Blob, Avalanche, I need you two to stay in New York with me. We have to divert the X-Men's attention to allow the others enough time to escape without leaving too much of a trail for Wolverine to pick up on. I've got an idea that will buy us some time, but we can't take them on the way we are. Everyone return home and we'll regroup back here an hour before nightfall. I'll contact the others and let them know."

* * *

"How are ya feeling?"

"Physically, or mentally?"

"Both, either, whichever, just talk to me."

Velocity slowly and painfully sat down on the bed beside Pyro. "It was a shock, and I still don't know what exactly to think. I just thought that _somehow_, if I could only see Rogue again, all of the stupid _politics_ and mutant-haters would disappear, and everything would be okay again because she was _alive_. It sounds stupid, I know."

"It ain't stupid, Nadia my love," Pyro put his arm around her trying not to touch her ribs. "It's hope. And no matter what side we're on, we all gotta have a little hope that, one way or another, this'll all be over some day. Otherwise, what the hell are we fightin' for?"

She looked at him lovingly. "You're very philosophical when you're on painkillers, did you know that?" she grinned.

"Okay, fine then, be that way," he replied. "We'll see how understanding I can be with pain shooting throughout my bloody face, okay?"

She kissed him and he shut up. The phone rang before they could go any further. Velocity got up to answer and lowered her voice to speak to the person on the other end. When she hung up, Pyro sat up and looked at her quizzically.

"Who was it?"

"Mystique" she replied. "We're to rendezvous with the others at the base this evening before sunset. Which means," she smiled mischievously, "we've got the rest of the day all to ourselves."

"How _will_ we pass the time?" Pyro grinned as he gathered her into his arms and kissed her again.

* * *

"You don' want to talk to Gambit?"

"Ah don' wanna talk ta _anyone_, Remy."

"Sometimes it be better when someone here to listen, _chère_," Gambit smiled his charming smile at her.

Rogue looked away and rubbed the back of her neck. "Ah don' really know what ta tell ya," she replied.

Gambit sat down on the bed beside her. "When Gambit got word dat his brother was in trouble, he got home as fast as he could, even though he knew he could lose what mattered to him most," he put his hand over Rogue's gloved hand. "Cuz he knows dat family is _très_ important, even if day done stupid t'ings in da past."

Rogue looked at him as if she'd seen him for the first time. It was then that she realized that he knew exactly how she felt, and that she was not alone.

"Ah don' wanna lose her again, Remy," Rogue admitted. "Ah mean, Ah understand that her an' Ah ain't on the same side anymore, but if somethin' awful were ta happen ta her, Ah dunno if Ah could take it. Ah already had ta do it once. Not again."

"If it make you feel any better, _chère_," Gambit smiled at her. "She is not dat easy to take out, _non_? You see da proof of dat outside."

Rogue smiled slightly. "Ah know she ain't, but my gut still won't settle down."

"Gambit understands perfectly, _chère_."

She covered his mouth and kissed the back of her gloved hand. "Thank you."

* * *

"We were finally working together as a team again. It was the first time since-" Cyclops cut himself off.

"The Professor would have been proud," Storm said comfortingly, softening what Cyclops hadn't allowed himself to say.

"No, no he wouldn't," Cyclops shook his head. "Because we dropped our guard, and Velocity capitalized, and now Morph paid for my mistake."

Jean and Storm were with him in the War Room. As leader of the X-Men, there was far too much going on in Cyclops's head for him to rest, and the two women had agreed that he shouldn't be alone to think himself into a depression. Now, they exchanged a determined look. They _had_ to get him back on the game plan.

"Then fix this," Jean replied simply.

Cyclops snapped his head around at her, eyebrow raised. "What?"

"If you think it was your fault, that it was your mistake, then you have to be the one to set it right," Jean explained. "We'll go wherever you lead us, but you have got to stay focused and take charge."

Cyclops nodded in understanding. All he'd needed was to be set on the right path. "You're right, Jean," he agreed. "We're going in there, and getting him back. Nothing can stop me from that this time."

* * *

Morph looked curiously across the cell at Graydon Creed, who sat huddled in the corner as far away as he could get from him. It had been this way for several hours – he couldn't be sure how long as he'd completely lost track of time. He'd heard voices shortly after being locked up, but had not heard anything since and assumed everybody had left. He could not be sure, however, and since there were no visible means of escape, he had opted for waiting until an opportunity was presented to him. Morph suddenly became very aware of how sore his butt had become and uncomfortably shifted his weight on the hard, cold floor. Then he jumped as Creed cried out for the first time that day.

"Don't come any closer, mutant!" he warned Morph. "Just leave me alone!"

Morph raised an eyebrow. "What the hell did they do to you, Creed?"

"M-my father...n-no! He is _not_ my father!" Creed shrieked in reply.

"Your father? Oh, well, you wouldn't happen to be referring to-" Morph's features altered to become much larger and feline, "-a certain Mr. Sabretooth, would you?"

"N-_no_!" Creed screamed like a frightened child. "Get away! Don't hurt me! I beg you!"

"That's almost music to my ears," Morph chuckled, changing back to normal. "Such a shame that Wolverine couldn't be here to appreciate this."

"Somehow, I do not think he'd be so easily amused," said a voice from the shadows.

"Well, you know, Velocity," Morph replied coolly, instantly recognizing her Russian accent. "Normally I would have to take offence to a comment like that, implying that my case is one of 'small minds; small pleasures'. But in this case, I'd have to say that I agree with you." He was, as usual, taking everything with a grain of salt. One could go crazy if one didn't laugh. Morph had been to crazy and back, and he hadn't liked it.

Velocity stepped into the light, along with Pyro. "Good," she stated bluntly. "Things will be much easier for you if you just keep agreeing with me."

"Question," Morph raised his hand. "What time is it?"

"Nearly sunset."

"Wouldn't you know it – I've missed all my favourite programs!" His joke was rewarded with silence. "What's going on, you guys?" Morph decided to take a serious approach for a moment. "What could you possibly hope to accomplish by holding me here? Other than feeding off my natural charm, of course." He couldn't hold serious for long.

"I didn't plan to bring you with me, you know?" Velocity scowled. "But we're working around your inconvenience."

"Ouch, girl, ouch."

"Truth hurts."

"What _is_ your plan, then?"

"Mind your own business, mate," Pyro narrowed his eyes at him. "All you need to know is that scum like him-" he kicked dirt at Creed, "-won't be causing us mutants trouble for much longer."

"And you'll find out why soon enough," Velocity added. "Because you will have the pleasure of accompanying us to our new base of operations."

"Only if you're gonna be there," Morph winked at her.

Velocity's expression did not change, but Pyro's teeth-grinding could have been heard back at the Institute.

"O-_kay_, tough crowd. Fine, what if I refuse?" Morph went the other way with a hypothetical question.

Velocity nodded to Pyro, who closed his eyes and raised his hands in the air. The lights attached to the walls began to quiver, then to shake violently as several light bulbs burst from the sudden increased heat and the newly freed fire exploded to quadruple the height. The orange flames licked at the ceiling, then eerily merged together, forming a towering, burning cobra.

The snake slipped between the bars of the cell, and surrounded Morph with its fiery body. Morph swallowed hard as its glowing red eyes transfixed him.

"N-new base of operations it is, then," Morph chuckled nervously.

"I knew you weren't stupid," Velocity replied, and Pyro allowed the fire cobra to evaporate. "Now, let's go."

She unlocked the cell door, and Morph carefully moved over beside them. Pyro entered the cell and swiftly approached Creed.

"No! NO! Get away, please!" Creed howled, backing away, crab-style, from Pyro. The blond mutant back-handed the man across the side of his head, knocking him flat. Without a word, he threw the silenced man over his shoulder, and then exited the cell and followed Velocity and Morph down the hallway.

* * *

Mystique was outside watching the last silver of the sun disappearing behind the city. Sabretooth, Velocity, Pyro and Toad had taken Morph and Creed and left quite some time ago on the military vessel the two had used to return home in the first place.

"Mystique?" It was Avalanche. "They'll be here soon."

"I know."

He waited a moment, shifting his weight uncomfortably. He cleared his throat, but still got no response. "Uh...Mystique? You've got to be in position when they show up."

"Yes, I know, Lance. We have plenty of time."

"It won't fool them, you know."

"It will for long enough for them to be thrown off track. They have no way of knowing what our next COA will be. Our mental defenses are strong enough to detect Jean if she tries to force her way into our minds."

"Oh, of _course_. Cerebro couldn't _possibly_ help her strengthen her power or anything like _that_."

Mystique sighed deeply, folding her arms tightly across her body. Her mind was on other things besides his nervous pessimism. "This is exactly what I feared would happen," she said. Avalanche rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. He knew what was coming but honestly didn't _care_ about her issues about the past or any of that kind of crap right now. Lance Alvers was nothing if not an emotional man, but his emotions tended to manifest in anger and violent demonstrations of his seismic power. He was nervous enough that this plan wouldn't work, and letting weak, foolish emotions like the kind Mystique was talking about get in the way of things was unacceptable. He turned and re-entered the lair, leaving Mystique to talk to herself. "This is why I've tried to keep them apart. I thought someday I could win Rogue back and then I could tell them the truth. I didn't want them to have to be pit against each other, and-" she turned, saw that she was alone, and sighed, "-I'm scared of what will happen."


	4. The Lost Teammate

It's All Relative

Chapter Three

Dusk had fallen, and two vehicles drove through the city: a red convertible and a dark brown jeep. Their headlights switched off as they neared the rocky coast, and they stopped half a mile from their destination.

"It is right up dare, _mes__ amis_," Gambit pointed in the direction of the Brotherhood's headquarters.

"The Cajun's right," Wolverine confirmed, jumping out of the jeep. "I can smell 'em."

"Keep your guard up, team," Cyclops ordered, exiting the convertible. "It would surprise me if we weren't expected."

"Strange," Jean mumbled to herself.

Everyone turned to look at her. "What's up, Sugah?" Rogue asked her.

"I can only sense three minds in the caves," she replied. "It is possible that they wanted to move after Rogue discovered them, but..."

"I believe what it is that you are trying to say, Jean, is that the probable cause for distress is originating from a certain metaphorical and yet distinctly unpleasant aquatic scent," Beast filled in for Jean.

"In English, Hank?" Wolverine grumbled as he peered toward the cave.

"Something smells fishy."

"I'll go along with that," Cyclops nodded. "Let's move out. Rogue, Wolverine, you're up."

The two of them crept down the cliff edge to the harbour shore, and carefully eased themselves to the entrance.

"They're close," Wolverine stated.

"Hold on a second, Sugah," Rogue put a hand on Wolverine's chest. She drew her fist back, and then threw her hardest punch through the opening. When it connected only with air, Wolverine raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Hey, a gal could get lucky twice in one day," she shrugged.

"Nobody's stupid enough to stand in the doorway, kid," he replied.

"Y'all would be surprised, Logan."

* * *

Avalanche watched from the corner as a fist came through the entrance. _What the hell?_ were his first thoughts, but he decided that a sighting was a sighting, and he still had a job to do.

The young mutant closed his eyes and clenched his fists, concentrating on the feeling of his immense power flowing through his entire body. He gritted his teeth and felt the ground shudder beneath his feet.

* * *

"Logan!" Rogue cried as her teammate lost his footing. Wolverine quickly shot his adamantium claws out from the backs of his hands and dug them into the hillside, regaining his balance.

"Avalanche," Wolverine snarled in recognition. "I thought I smelled a rat."

The ground shook harder, and shouts of surprise came from top of the hill as the rest of the X-Men were thrown off-balance.

"Help!" Jubilee cried as she and Gambit plunged into the waters below. Beast managed to clutch the side of the cliff, Storm was able to ride the winds, and Jean used her telekinetic abilities to support her and Cyclops.

The ground continued to shake violently, and large piece of the cliff broke loose and fell straight toward Beast. Luckily, Rogue was paying attention.

"Beast! Look out!" she exclaimed, flying up to punch the boulder and smashing it into a thousand tiny pieces.

"My eternal gratitude, Rogue," the furry blue mutant thanked her.

"I'm goin' in!" Wolverine snarled, and raced into the cave.

"Wolverine, wait up!" Rogue called to him as she scooped Gambit and Jubilee out of the harbour, but he ignored her.

"Avalanche!" Wolverine shouted, "I know you're in here!"

"Damn right I am," Avalanche replied, stepping out of the darkness and using his powers to summon another quake. Rocks went tumbling toward Wolverine, but his adamantium claws sliced them into bits.

"Where's Morph?" he demanded.

"Why're you askin' me?" Avalanche shrugged. "I thought he was on your side again."

"Don't play with me, Bub," Wolverine pointed his claws at him. "I ain't in the mood."

"Have it your way," the Brotherhood member sneered, and sent another barrage of rock barreling toward the X-Man.

Wolverine spun around, splitting as many boulders as he could. With his enemy's back turned, Avalanche rocked the cave once more, shaking loose a boulder that would have flattened the Canadian mutant had it not been for a well-timed ruby-quartz blast that intercepted it.

"Alright, Avalanche," Cyclops stood in the entrance, finger hovering next to his visor, backed by his teammates. "The game is over. Tell us where Morph is, _now_."

Avalanche stood still, sizing up his eight opponents and mentally listing his limited options. After a brief moment of tension, he dropped his arms to his sides.

"He's in the cell down the corridor, second on the right," he stated. "I'm outta here."

"I don't think so, _pal_," Cyclops shook his head. "You're coming with us, in case your buddies have a little welcoming party set up for us. Rogue, escort our guide here, would you?"

"With pleasure, Sugah," Rogue smirked, and took a tight grip on Avalanche's shoulder.

* * *

"Over there," Cyclops pointed in the direction of the cell as it came into view. "I see him."

"Morph?" Rogue called his name, maintaining her grip on Avalanche's shoulder. "Y'all okay l'il buddy?"

"Rogue?" Morph looked up at her and grinned. "How did you guys find me?"

"A l'il espionage mission an' some help from our unknowin' source here," she smirked and mussed Avalanche's hair. He scowled and knocked her hand away. "Careful, Rock Tumbler, or Ah'll have ta take y'all outside ta cool off in the drink."

"Did you look around the caves?" Morph asked. "There's others besides him."

"We were unable to locate his co-conspirators," Beast replied, as Rogue pulled the door off the cell.

"Well, you better check," Morph sounded nervous. "They've gotta be close."

"Close than you think, eh Mystique?" Wolverine snarled as he entered the room, having been bringing up the rear and making sure that they weren't being followed. "You can cut out _this_ little game _real_ quick."

"Sooner than I would have liked to, you lousy bloodhound," she spat, changing back to her blue-skinned form.

"Can't fool this nose, Sweetheart," he growled at her. "Now spit it out: where's Morph?"

"Further than even _your_ senses can track him," she sneered. "You might as well give up, X-Men. We've won this round."

"In your dreams," Wolverine charged at her. The ground shook as an enormous shape stepped between him and his target, and Wolverine bounced off of the Blob's huge bulk.

"You X-Men never learn," he laughed. "Nothing can move the Blob!"

"Sabretooth was right about you, Wolverine," Mystique smiled deviously. "You _are_ getting old. You should have smelled Blob hiding there."

"Guess I was a little distracted," Wolverine rubbed his head, getting to his feet. "So sue me." Avalanche began to creep over to his partners.

"Hey!" Jubilee exclaimed. "He's gettin' away!"

"You should learn to keep your mouth shut, kid!" Avalanche angrily warned her.

"An' y'all should learn how ta talk to a lady!" Rogue shot back at him. "Or do Ah have to come over there an' beat some manners into yah?"

"I wouldn't, Rogue," Avalanche's dark eyes were locked with hers. "Our relationship is already on the _rocks_!" He slammed his foot into the ground, sending a tremor straight toward the X-Men.

Jubilee slipped as the ground shifted and shook beneath her, and she flew back into Rogue's arms as the Southern mutant went airborne. The walls and ceiling began to collapse, barricading the three Brotherhood members inside the cell and burying Storm and Wolverine.

"Storm!" Rogue cried. "We gotta get her outta there!"

_Logan__, can you hear me?_ Jean called telepathically, using her telekinesis to move the rocks from the pile.

_I hear ya, Jeanny, _was his reply_. But you better get us out of here quick. I took most of the punishment, but 'Ro took a hard knock._

Rogue put Jubilee on the ground and she and Beast began digging out their friends.

"Stand back, _mes__ amis_. Gambit will take care o' dis," the Cajun declared, using his mutant powers to kinetically charge the pile of rubble.

"Be careful, Gambit," Cyclops told him. "Too big of an explosion could hurt them."

"You leave dat to Gambit," he nodded. "He say it be no problem." The rocks glowed and exploded in a ball of light. Wolverine, now uncovered, pushed himself to his feet and carefully picked up an unconscious Storm.

"Is she-?" Jubilee gasped.

"She'll be okay," Wolverine assured her.

The cave shook again and the team whirled around to the pile of boulders separating them from their enemies.

"Don' let 'em get away!" Wolverine howled, gently setting Storm on the ground and lunging at the barricade, hacking at the stone with his adamantium claws.

Rogue followed his example, pounding her way through, and Cyclops sent blast after blast into the slowly crumbling blockade.

They finally managed to tunnel through, and Wolverine bolted inside, claws ready to impale the first thing that came at him. When he saw the clear night sky through the hole smashed out of the wall, however, he relaxed.

"Any sign of them?" Cyclops asked, rushing into view.

"They high-tailed it," Wolverine shook his head. "Can't even track 'em cuz they jumped in the water."

"What about the others?" Rogue demanded. "Where's Nadia? And Pyro, Toad, and Sabretooth?"

"My guess is they're _long_ gone," Wolverine speculated. "Must've taken Morph with 'em too. We walked right into their little decoy."

"Then I'm afraid we're back to square one," Cyclops unhappily admitted.


	5. Enter the XFactor

It's All Relative

Chapter Four

Almost a week had passed since the Brotherhood had taken Morph. The X-Men had formed a mutual bond with the government-sanctioned team of X-Factor to keep the constant riots under control. Beast and Forge worked together on re-building the Blackbird after Magneto had destroyed it upon their final encounter. Jean, meanwhile, had devoted almost every waking moment to searching for any trace of Morph or the Brotherhood.

Cyclops sat in the War Room with his head down on the table. He was physically and emotionally exhausted, and he wasn't the only one.

He looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder and smiled as Storm handed him a hot cup of coffee.

"You would probably be more comfortable sleeping in your room, my friend," she smiled softly.

"No doubt," Cyclops nodded, sipping his coffee. "But there is just too much going on right now for a good night's sleep, I'm afraid."

"There is, indeed, no rest for the wicked," Beast commented as he entered the room.

"That's our only assurance that Mystique and her cronies are just as run down as we are," Cyclops replied sarcastically.

The door slid open and Jean walked in. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she slowly moved over to sit beside Cyclops.

"Any luck?" he asked her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"There's no trace of any of them," she shook her head. "They're smart enough to lay low and Cerebro can't pick up on them because they aren't using their mutant powers. And I don't even know where to look."

"Do not worry, Jean," Storm assured her. "We shall discover where they are hiding."

"Scum always rises to the surface," Cyclops agreed.

"The Brotherhood, like many other mutants, believes that they must protect mutantkind from humanity, Scott," Jean shook her head. "Although we may not agree with their tactics, there _are_ two sides to every war."

"Are you saying that they're right to cause trouble and start riots, risking innocent people's lives in the process?" Cyclops raised an eyebrow.

"I'm saying that _they_ believe they're right," Jean corrected him. "And they will do everything in their power to succeed in what they have set out to do."

"If only we knew what that was," Storm said understandingly.

* * *

"Trask, are those weapons finished yet?" Henry Gyrich asked his partner, entering their lab.

"It's a delicate process, Gyrich," Bolivar Trask replied without looking up from his work. "These weapons have the most intricate circuitry I've ever worked with. Far more advanced than my Sentinels."

"Whatever," Gyrich rolled his eyes. "The _point_ is that it's been a week, and the Head Council is losing patience."

"Here," Trask stood up and handed Gyrich a device from the ones on the table. "This one is finished. The rest of these will take me a few more days."

"Excellent," Gyrich grinned widely, an evil twinkle in his eye.

* * *

Sabretooth paced up and down the halls of the Russian military base he and Velocity had secured earlier that month. His impatience was getting the better of him, and he marched into the room where Toad was working. There were computers and viewscreens everywhere, and the small mutant was hard at work at one of the consoles.

"Can't you work any faster?" he snapped at him.

"Settle yourself, big guy," Toad smirked. "Genius cannot be rushed."

"Genius, my ass," he snarled.

"Temper, temper, pussycat," the other grinned. "We wouldn't want to accidentally use our powers and have those X-freaks pinpoint our location, would we?"

"Bring 'em on," Sabretooth retorted. "Better than being cooped up here with you jackasses."

"Right, you do that then, mate," Toad nodded. "Then I'll watch you explain to Mystique about why our ingenious plan failed, how's that sound?"

"_I_ don't care what Mystique thinks," Sabretooth stressed.

"Sure, sure."

Sabretooth roared his frustration and Toad chuckled to himself as the big mutant stormed out of the room.

* * *

Velocity lay on the bed in the quarters she'd designated as hers. Pyro lay next to her, regarding her quietly, entwining his fingers around a lock of her dark hair. She was staring off into space, oblivious to the world around her.

"Nadia?" Pyro softly called her name, attempting to bring her out of her thoughts. "_Nadia_?" She blinked and shifted her gaze to meet his eyes. "You okay?"

She considered the question for a moment. "Not sure," she replied. "Ask me again, sometime."

"It just freaks me out when you're quiet for more than five minutes," Pyro grinned, and she reached up and flicked his nose. "Sorry, darlin', truth hurts."

Velocity pushed the blankets back, stood up, and began to get dressed. "I'm going to check the perimetre. Creed's to damn stubborn to do it."

"You sure?" Pyro sat up. "I mean, are you feeling up to going out there?"

"It's been a week," she said, casting a sideways glance at him. "And I can't use my powers anyway, so I think I can handle taking a walk."

"Just makin' sure, love," he replied. "It's my job to worry about you, right?"

She smiled, walked over to him and kissed him softly, running her fingers through his blond hair. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back onto the bed, rolling on top of her. He kissed her neck, but as he moved his hand down her body and brushed her ribs, she winced, air hissing through her clenched teeth as she inhaled sharply.

Pyro pushed himself off of her and sighed. "I'm sorry." She kissed his forehead and rolled off the bed. "Don't worry, love, soon enough we'll have those X-Men buggers right where we want 'em."

"Our attack is on humanity, Pyro, not other mutants," Velocity corrected him. "We cannot target the X-Men."

"If they get in the way, which they're sure to do, since we have their little mate, then it's their own fault," Pyro replied. "No bloody love lost between us and them, that's for damn sure."

"Yeah," Velocity frowned, and then left the room.

Pyro watched her go curiously, and then smacked himself on the forehead after realizing he'd forgotten that she was still thinking of Rogue.

"Stupid," he cursed himself, then got dressed and went to go visit Toad.

* * *

Beast frowned at the mess of parts before him. Repairing the Blackbird was proving to be a long and tedious process, and some days it seemed as thought they hardly made any progress at all.

Rogue and Jubilee entered the hangar as Beast was putting his tools away.

"How's it goin', Hank?" Jubilee asked hopefully.

"Well, Jubilation, I've heard it said that one's work reflects one's life," Beast said, motioning to the Blackbird, lying in disarray before him.

"Huh, ain't that the truth," Rogue agreed, eyeing the mass of metal and electronics. "Forge gone home, Beast?"

"Indeed he has," Beast nodded. "After quite a frustrating day, might I add."

"Magneto sure did a number on this thing," Jubilee commented.

"Y'all ain't kiddin', Sugah," Rogue smirked. "Anyway, we came down ta see if'n y'all needed a hand, Beast."

"That's very kind of you, Rogue, but all I need now is a hot cup of tea and a good night's sleep," Beast smiled politely.

* * *

Wolverine stomped into the main hall where Cyclops was saying goodbye to members of X-Factor: Havok, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch. He was getting very impatient with the lack of Brotherhood being found, and it was putting him in one of his moods.

"This ain't helpin'," he grumbled at them. "Standin' around when we should be out lookin' fer somethin'..._any_thin' that'll lead us to Morph."

"We'll be more likely to find a clue with a rested mind," Scarlet Witch said kindly.

"Ain't no rest for me till I find him, sister," Wolverine informed her.

"Wanda's right, Wolverine," Cyclops interjected. "And besides that, we've been searching for almost a week straight, and all we've managed to dig up is even more bad news."

"Oh really?" Wolverine raised an eyebrow. "So, you gonna tell me what this news is, or do I hafta say _please_?"

"We've found evidence that the Friends of Humanity have regrouped," Havok relayed the news. "Unfortunately, we haven't located their new headquarters, yet."

"Looks like I've got some huntin' ta do," Wolverine gritted his teeth.

"I'm with you, Wolverine," Quicksilver stated, clenching his fists.

"Sorry, Bub," the Canuck shook his head. "I'm workin' alone on this one." He walked out the door.

"Logan!" Quicksilver called after him. "At least let me come along to watch your back! Besides-" he sprinted over to him, "-it's not like I can't keep up."

Wolverine concealed his amusement. "Alright, Bub, let's go. Just make sure you don't get in my way, got it, Junior?"

"Got it," Quicksilver grinned, and fell in step beside Wolverine.

* * *

Hours of searching by moon and streetlight did not reveal any clues as to where the FOH were holding up. Wolverine and Quicksilver investigated both old headquarters, neither yielding any leads.

"Hold it," Wolverine stopped as they passed through an alley, both about ready to turn in.

"You find something?" Quicksilver joined him.

"Maybe," Wolverine carefully smelled the air, then bent to the concrete and did the same. "Scent's almost a week old, but it's there."

"What is it?"

"Avalanche," Wolverine replied simply. "Blob was with 'im. I can smell their anxiety, like they were waitin' fer somethin'. Must be why their scent's still here after so long."

"You wanna follow it?"

"Does Sabretooth really piss me off?"

"Lead the way."

Though the streets were virtually deserted, Quicksilver kept an eye out for trouble while Wolverine completely concentrated on following the faint trail.

"They stopped here," Wolverine said after a few blocks. "Then I think they took off that way, but it's hard to tell. Musta been when Rogue followed 'em to their hideout."

"What's so special about this place?" Quicksilver raised an eyebrow, and then took off around the building and back to Wolverine. "I don't see anything."

"Why has everything gotta be done fast with you, kid?" Wolverine mused. "Looks like this is the night I teach you about a true hunter's patience."

The door to the building opened, and Wolverine quickly pushed Quicksilver into the shadows and crouched down beside him.

"Or maybe not," Quicksilver grinned, and Wolverine shot him a look.

Two men emerged from the doorway and quickly zipped up their jackets, but not before Wolverine's keen eyesight spotted the gun each man had concealed inside, and the three bold letters printed on their white T-shirts.

"Friends of Humanity," he snorted.

"Looks like our buddy Lance wasn't just loitering after all," Quicksilver nodded. "What do you think the Brotherhood wants with these guys?"

"It ain't to invite 'em over for milk an' cookies, that's fer sure," Wolverine replied. "I swear, if we end up havin' to protect these slimeballs..." he let his sentence trail off, accenting his disgust by shooting out his adamantium claws and grinding them against each other.

"Cool it man, it won't go down that way," Quicksilver assured him.

"No, it won't," he agreed, watching the men disappear around the corner. He tapped the communicator on his belt. "Anybody still up?"

It took a few moments, and then Gambit's voice could be heard. "_It is getting late fo' even Gambit, mon ami_," he replied.

"Listen up, Cajun, I got some bad news," Wolverine was serious.

"_Cyclops tell Gambit that you go to look fo' da Friends of Humanity's headquarters. You maybe have found dis den_?"

"Yeah, an' I got a feeling that if we don't find the Brotherhood soon, things are gonna get a lot worse before they get better."

"_Gambit don' like da sound o' dat. You maybe be wanting some back up, non_?"

"Pietro's with me," Wolverine declined the offer. "I want you to make sure someone's on constant watch for mutant activity with Cerebro."

"_Jean is dare_."

"She can't handle it 24 and seven."

"What about Psylocke?" Quicksilver suggested. "She could give Jean a hand, right?"

"Sure, Bub," Wolverine nodded sarcastically. "And I suppose _you_ know how to contact her?"

"No," Quicksilver admitted. "But I'll bet Worthington does."

"Good call. Okay, kid, make it happen. I want her at the mansion in the morning. Jean can handle the rest of the night," Wolverine instructed.

"Check," Quicksilver stood up, and sped away toward X-Factor's headquarters.

"_Gambit has just t'ought of somet'ing_, _mon__ ami_," Gambit, who had been silent for a few moments, said after Quicksilver had gone.

"First time for everything," Wolverine scoffed.

Gambit let the comment slide. "_What if da guy dat hurt da professor is dealin' wit da Friends_?"

Wolverine paused to ponder this new idea. "Along with Trask, Gyrich was the scum behind the Mutant Registration Program, and the Sentinels. If he's rubbin' elbows with these dirtbags, and they have more of those gizmos that put Xavier out of commission, we could all be in big trouble."

"_Maybe you should get back here den_, _non_?"

"For once, Cajun, I agree with ya."


	6. Mystique's Mistake

It's All Relative

Chapter Five

"Why haven't they contacted us, yet? Something must have happened. We should have heard from them," Mystique was ranting, pacing back and forth over the thin carpet in Toad's apartment; their new base of operations.

Avalanche sat on the tattered sofa, eyes closed, completely tuning her voice out of his head with the help of his Discman.

"Jus' chill, Mystique," Blob told her, taking his head out of the refrigerator long enough so that she could hear him. "Toad knows what he's doin'."

"That may be, but I am _losing_ my patience," she replied. "This is all touch and go with the sudden change of plans, and I _don't_ like being out of the loop."

"Relax, boss," Blob emerged from the kitchen with an enormous submarine sandwich, containing most of what had just been in the fridge. "Wanna bite?"

Mystique delicately wrinkled her nose in disgust and turned away. "No, thank you."

Blob shrugged. "More for me." He sunk his teeth into his dinner. Mayonnaise and mustard squirted out the back, and Mystique sidestepped to avoid getting it on her white dress. Blob grinned as he swallowed the bite, a large piece of lettuce lodged between his front teeth.

"_Gross_," Mystique muttered under her breath. She began pacing the room again. "Maybe something's wrong with the computer, and Toad can't contact us. Avalanche, are you sure everything is working properly? Avalanche?" She looked at him and saw that he was oblivious to her words. "Alvers!" she screamed, clapping her hands in front of his face.

His eyes popped open and he jumped. "What?!" he yelled, startled, and removed his headphones.

"Is the computer completely in working order?" he repeated.

"How the hell should I know?" he retorted. "I ain't Toad. I don't know nothin' about these damn stupid things!"

"Then I want you to take it in to a repair shop and ensure it is functioning properly," she ordered. "Immediately."

"Mystique, it's past the middle of the God-damn night."

"Then you can _wait_ there until they _open_," she hissed. "Now get out of my sight."

"Mystique-"

"NOW!"

"Aw, Christ," Avalanche cursed under his breath as he hauled himself off the couch, gathered up the laptop computer, and stomped out of the room.

* * *

"Goddamn bitch," Avalanche snarled as he made his way down the dimly lit streets. "Who the fuck does she think she is?"

There was no moon out, and the streetlights flickered as the bulbs slowly burned out. It was no concern to the dark-haired mutant; he could handle any back-alley thug who tried to start something with him. Once in a while, he hadn't bothered using his powers, relishing in the feeling of his rock-hard fist plowing into the side of a would-be mugger's skull. Living in this part of the city, it had become a regular routine, and most of the usual kids out late at night could recognize him by sight now, and steered clear.

A small object, presumably a rock, was hurled out of the alley to his left and shattered the lamp, leaving Avalanche standing in near-total darkness, with only the chilling sound of metal scraping on metal. This was new, and yet terribly familiar.

"Havin' problems with the boss lady, Alvers?" came a growly voice that the Brotherhood member recognized instantly.

"Nah, I was talkin' about your mom, old man," Avalanche shot back.

"Not smart, punk," Wolverine emerged from the alley, claws bared. "Not smart at all."

Avalanche's dark eyes watched his opponent closely; waiting for any indication that Wolverine would attack.

"Whatcha got there, bub?" Wolverine raised an eyebrow. "Somethin' the X-Men would be interested in, no doubt."

Avalanche glanced down at the laptop, and then took a protective stance, holding out his hand. "Back off, old man, you don't have a clue what you're dealin' with."

"Well then, mebbe it's time I _got_ a clue, Bub," Wolverine mused, and lunged at his enemy.

Avalanche had been ready, and ducked and rolled under the X-Man's jumping attack.

"I _warned_ you, freak!" Avalanche repeated as he landed on his feet. "Back _off_!" He smashed his foot into the cement, and the sidewalk exploded as the mini quake shot toward Wolverine.

The Canadian mutant jumped just as the tremor reached him, and spin-kicked a fist-sized block of flying concrete. The rock caught Avalanche on the side of the head, and he dropped to the ground. The younger mutant shook his head, trying not to lose consciousness. He moved noticeably slower as Wolverine approached him, but was still quick enough to push the laptop out of harm's way, and then wheel his feet around to kick Wolverine's legs out from under him.

As he hit the ground, Wolverine retracted his claws, preparing for a fist fight and wanting to enjoy the event. He wanted to _feel_ Avalanche's thick head growing softer as it was tenderized beneath his relentless assault.

Both mutants sprang to their feet and ran at each other. Punches were exchanged; blow after solid blow landed by both fighters.

Finally, Wolverine knocked Avalanche to the ground, but the younger mutant used his momentum to roll back to his feet. He turned to run, and Wolverine pursued. Avalanche stopped and Wolverine ducked, narrowly avoiding the sudden wheel kick. With his opponent off-balance, Avalanche redirected his attack to the brick wall of the building beside him. One strong burst of seismic force and the brick wall exploded onto Wolverine.

Avalanche stopped to catch his breath, regarding the pile of rubble. "Some people just can't take a hint," he smirked, then turned to retrieve the laptop.

"No, they can't," Wolverine agreed, pushing his way out from under the bricks.

Avalanche let out a frustrated cry and turned to attack. Wolverine ducked the anger-fueled punch, knocked his arm away, unsheathed his claws, and stabbed Avalanche through the shoulder with a savage snarl.

Avalanche howled in pain, and Wolverine landed a final punch to knock him unconscious.

"That's the only thing I'll ever teach _you_, Bub," Wolverine panted. "_Never_ just _assume_ you've won."

* * *

Quicksilver raced through the files on X-Factor's computer database, searching for the stored information on Warren Worthington III, also known as Archangel. He soon located a phone number and immediately picked up a nearby telephone and dialed.

"_Worthington residence_," came a tired-sounding voice after a few rings.

"I need to speak with Mr. Worthington," Quicksilver demanded.

"_I'm sorry, sir_," the butler declined the request. "_But Mr. Worthington is preoccupied at this time. I would advise to call back at a later-_"

"Look, this is an emergency," Quicksilver pleaded. "Tell Worthington that it's Quicksilver of X-Factor. He'll take the call."

"_Just a moment, sir_," was the reply, and minute later, Worthington's voice could be heard.

"_Pietro_?_ What's going on_?" he asked.

"Warren," Quicksilver heaved a relieved sigh. "I need your help. I need to contact Betsy."

"_And you're assuming I know where she is_?" Worthington questioned. "_You know that she likes to remain anonymous_."

"This is important, Warren," Quicksilver frowned. "The X-Men need her help."

"_Then why are you_-"

"Wolverine gave me the orders to contact you," he cut him off. "X-Factor is helping the X-Men control the riots because there's something bigger going down."

"_And what's that_?"

"A possible confrontation between the Brotherhood and the newly reformed Friends of Humanity. It's likely that Mystique wants to pick up where Magneto left off in leading the mutant revolution, and, as if that wasn't enough, Morph's been kidnapped. Now, Jean needs Betsy's help to find the Brotherhood with Cerebro before it's too late."

Worthington was silent for a moment, and then spoke. "_I'll give her the message_."

"Thank you."

* * *

Warren Worthington III slowly replaced the telephone receiver on the cradle and ran his fingers through his long blond hair. It was always something like this that kept him from leading a normal life. He wanted nothing more than to go back into that bedroom and pretend he'd never had that conversation.

He turned around and met the gaze of Betsy Braddock, known to a minimal number of acquaintances as Psylocke, watching him from his bedroom doorway.

"Trouble?" she asked.

"Looks like it."

She walked forward and traced her finger up his muscular chest. "Then we'll have to continue this later," she smiled, and kissed him softly. "Let's go."

* * *

"Yoo-_hoo_, anybody home?" Wolverine's gruff voice rang down the hallways of the Xavier Institute. He was carrying the laptop in one hand, and Avalanche over his shoulder, the blood from his injury staining Wolverine's costume. "We got us a visitor."

"What's going on, Logan?" Jubilee walked down the stairs, rubbing her eyes. Her short hair was mussed and she wore a yellow and white nightgown. "Where have you _been_ all night?"

"Huntin'," he smirked. "You mind the sight of blood, kid?"

"It makes me queasy," she nodded, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Why?"

"Don't look."

So, of course, she looked.

"Oh my _God_, Logan!" she exclaimed. "What happened out there?"

"Met up with Rocky, here," he indicated Avalanche with a nod of his head.

"I-is he-?"

"He's alive, but I gotta get him to the Infirmary. I think he's gonna be the answer to our little 'where's the Brotherhood holdin' up?' problem."

"I-I gotta sit down for a second," Jubilee stammered, her face going pale.

"Look, kid, just take a deep breath and run and get Hank for me, okay?" Wolverine bargained. "You can chuck your chili after that."

"R-right," she nodded, scampering back up the stairway.

* * *

"Something's wrong."

Velocity looked up at the sound of Toad's voice. "What?"

Toad shook his head, punching the keys on the keyboard in front of him. "I've got the satellite signal rigged, all these computers are networked properly, but I can't get through to Mystique. Something's gone sodding wrong."

"Maybe it's a crossed wire?" she suggested. He shifted his gaze and glared at her. "Sorry, nevermind," she backpedaled.

"It's nothing _I've_ done," he scowled. "Something's wrong _back home_."

* * *

The sun's rays broke the horizon, and the sound of a buzzer disturbed the thoughts of Cyclops and Storm as they sat in the War Room. Cyclops looked up at one of the many monitors and raised an eyebrow at the sight of the sleek woman at the front door.

"_X-Men_?" Psylocke spoke into the intercom after ringing the buzzer again. "_Jean_?_ Anybody there?"_

"Cyclops here," he confirmed. "How did you get past security?"

"_Accomplished ninja thief, duh_."

Cyclops frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"_Wolverine sent for me_," she spoke as if it were obvious. "_I'm here to give Jean a break from Cerebro. C'mon, Cyke, get on the ball here_."

"Uh," Cyclops glanced at Storm. She shook her head, indicating that she knew nothing of the arrangement. "I don't know anything about this. I'm going to make sure you're telling the truth," he replied, not liking how she was making him sound stupid. He spoke into the commlink for the mansion. "Wolverine? Psylocke just showed up, claiming to be here on invitation from you. Know anything about it?"

"_Yeah, Cyke_," Wolverine replied. "_I figured we could use all the help we could get, y'know_?"

Cyclops turned back to the intercom for the front door. "Alright, you're clear," he told Psylocke, and she grinned, openly amused by his attempt to swallow his pride.

* * *

"I knew I was forgettin' to tell him somethin'," Wolverine smirked. "I'm gonna hear about it later, too." He turned back to Beast. "So what's the diagnosis, doc?"

"Mr. Alvers' condition has stabilized," Beast replied, without looking up from the heart-rate monitor he was setting up. "But he is very fortunate, Logan. You missed puncturing his lung by a hair's breadth."

"Lucky I was in a good mood then, eh?" Wolverine replied sarcastically, and Beast rolled his eyes.

Wolverine quietly observed as Beast finished with the monitor. Avalanche lay unconscious on the white hospital bed, hooked up to both the monitor and an IV unit. His arm was tightly bound across his chest, hindering his shoulder from moving to prevent any further damage to the wound. The last thing he needed was torn muscles or severed nerves, if there weren't already.

"It is my professional opinion that Mr. Alvers be taken to a hospital as soon as possible," Beast stated. "I can only do so much without the necessary equipment. And while he has received the proper medical attention, I simply do not have the time to monitor his condition. I'm afraid there is much on my proverbial plate, at the moment."

"Ya done good, Hank," Wolverine assured him. "I'll take 'im in soon as I get some answers."

"Do as you must, Logan," Beast replied. "But his blood loss was great. It will be some time before he regains consciousness."

"I'll be here when he does, you can count on that."

* * *

"Bloody hell," Toad shook his head. "This is pissing me right off. They must've turned off the damn computer. I sodding well told them _not_ to do that!"

Velocity bit her lower lip. "This isn't like Mystique at all," she stated. "Something must have happened. Is there any other way we can contact them?"

Toad wiped his nose with his sleeve. "Well, yeah. We can call 'em, but the whole point of the computer was so we wouldn't have to. Phone calls are too damn easy to trace, and I know the cops have my line tapped. All they need is one bloody shred of evidence and they'll lock me up for good."

"Could you use the scrambler?" she asked after a few minutes of thinking.

"Theoretically, yes," he nodded. "But it's possible that the scrambler could completely warp the signal. We wouldn't be able to hear each other."

"But the call would be untraceable?"

"Yes, again, in theory."

"Keep trying to connect," she said, standing up and messing his gelled hair. "We'll use the call as a last resort."

"Check," he replied, and continued his efforts to contact Mystique, all the while mumbling something about Blob probably spilling something in the circuitry.

* * *

Velocity walked down the corridors to the mess hall and prepared two food trays then carried them to the detention block of the compound. In one cell, Graydon Creed sat huddled in the corner. Next door was Morph (who had been forced to wear an inhibitor collar) sitting on the hard bed, regarding her with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk.

"What?" she gave in.

"Just hypothesizing why you would once again grace me with your presence," he grinned. "Can't get me outta your head, am I right?"

"Morph," she concealed her smile. "Don't start."

"Hey, I'm serious," Morph persisted. "Come on, Nadia. This sexual tension between us has gone on _way_ too long." He got off the bed and made his way over to where she stood on the other side of the bars. "Just this once, why can't we disregard the whole good-guy-vs-bad-girl protocol and indulge our primal urges? Though, if I may backpedal for a moment, I must say the bad girl thing is a _definite_ turn on."

Velocity's green eyes locked with his. Morph had been playing these games all week, and Velocity, who, more often than not, had found herself with nothing better to do, had been visiting rather often. She found it amusing listening to whatever new ploy to convince her to let him out that he'd come up with.

"Face it, Nadia, we were meant to be. Just forget Pyro because you can't fight fate, babe. And, y'know, I can take any form you want if you'd just be kind enough to remove this little inhibitor collar..."

"Uh huh, nice try," she nodded. "But I'm afraid that taking off that collar and having you turn into Mr. Fantastic and squeezing through these bars-" she shoved the food tray through the slot, ramming Morph in the stomach, "-just wouldn't be that smart, now would it?"

"By whose perspective?" Morph grinned.

"Better luck next time," she smirked, and left after leaving the other tray in Creed's cell.

Morph watched her go, and then turned to Creed. "I've got her exactly where I want her," he joked, then picked up the tray, returned to the bed, and prepared to eat his meal.

* * *

_Jean_?

The first thought that crossed Jean Grey's mind was that, somehow, the Professor was trying to contact her from across the cosmos. This bit of hope was dismissed, however, when she realized the telepathic voice was feminine, and one she'd not heard in quite some time.

"Betsy?" Jean opened her eyes, breaking her link with Cerebro.

"Hey, girl," Psylocke replied, walking toward her. Jean removed Cerebro's helmet, stood, and embraced the raven-haired ninja. Psylocke's mind told Jean her reason for being there. "How you doin'?"

"I've been better," Jean answered honestly.

"You look it. No offence."

"None taken."

The two telepaths, though they hadn't known each other long, spoke as if they were old friends, due to the unique connection they shared. It was the same connection they shared with the minds of the other telepaths who had been held hostage by Apocalypse in the Axis of Time.

"Get outta here and take a nap," Psylocke ordered, smiling. "I think I can figure out how this sucker works."

Jean stifled her yawn, and then nodded. "Thanks, Betsy." She left the room, and Psylocke look her seat in front of Cerebro.

"Stylish," she remarked as she picked up the helmet and put it on her head. "Okay, Cerebro, baby. Whadda we got so far? Any recent mutant activity?"

"Welcome, Psylocke," Cerebro replied. "Confirmed mutant activity occurred at oh-two-hundred hours last night. Mutant identified: Lance Alvers. Codename: Avalanche. Affiliation: Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Age-"

"Blah, blah, blah, and Wolverine opened up a can of whoop-ass on him, then brought him here to the Infirmary," Psylocke cut in. "I know all that already. Any information on the other missing Brotherhood members?"

"There have been no further instances of activity from any of the mutants I am currently programmed to locate."

"Let's see if we can't change that."

* * *

Toad still sat, staring blankly at the computer screen, head resting in his hands. Only his eyes moved as he watched Pyro enter the control room, continuously looking over his shoulder.

"Why do I have the creepiest feeling that Sabretooth is watching me everywhere I go?" he asked.

"'Cause he probably is?"

"Wish I knew where that creep is," Pyro walked over to Toad and sat in the chair next to him, putting his feet up on the desk. "He hasn't even threatened my life all week. It's freakin' me out." Toad smirked at the sarcasm. "So, how's it goin'?"

"They're disconnected," he frowned. "I'm gonna call and find out if I should just make the transmission from here."

"Might as well, mate. Obviously Mystique doesn't think it's important enough to do herself."

"I think it's something more than that. I just don't know what."

"Right, well, give 'er a ring then, mate, an' see what's what."

Toad rose from his chair and picked up the receiver from the nearby telephone. Picking up his small scrambling device, he slowly unscrewed the mouthpiece and carefully connected the object to the gadgetry inside. This procedure completed, Toad held the receiver to his ear and dialed the number for his apartment in New York.

* * *

The phone rang.

Mystique awoke suddenly, startled by the loud noise in the previously silent apartment. She'd fallen asleep on the couch that Avalanche had been sitting on hours earlier. Blob and Avalanche were nowhere to be seen, and she assumed that they were sleeping elsewhere in the apartment.

She jumped off the couch and ran to the phone, answering on the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

"_What the bloody hell is going on over there? Why can't I sodding well get through to you on the God-damn computer_?"

Mystique winced, realizing that she'd made a serious mistake. "Toad, I'm so sorry, it's my fault. I thought something was wrong with the computer and sent Avalanche to have it checked out last night."

"_Tell me you did _not_ just say that_."

She didn't respond, and there was a heavy growl on the other side. The next voice Mystique heard was Pyro's, and Toad could be heard swearing in the background.

"_Crykie__, did you ever piss him off_!" Pyro commented.

"We can still proceed to the next phase," she told him. "I want you to make the transmission from there."

"_Why? Just hook the computer back up and Morty'll patch ya through_."

"Alright," she nodded. "Avalanche? Where did you put the computer?" After a moment with no response, she called again. "Lance?"

Blob emerged from the adjacent bedroom, sleepy-eyed. "He ain't here, boss," he shook his head. "He never came back last night."

Mystique was at a loss for words, but Pyro had heard.

"_Mystique_," he was obviously speaking through clenched teeth, worried about his best friend, "_if_ anything's_ happened to him, I swear I'll_-"

"_What's wrong now_?" Toad's voice interrupted.

"_Lance is missing_," Pyro relayed. "_With the computer_."

Toad cursed loud enough for Mystique to hear then took back the receiver.

"_Mystique, I'll send the transmission from here, but you need to get out of that apartment_."

"Why?"

"_My line's tapped. I scrambled this transmission so they won't be able to trace it, but as soon as we contact Kelly, the X-Men are gonna hear about something going on at my place. Get out fast, and try to find Avalanche. We'll meet at the rendezvous point on schedule_."

"Check, see you then." She hung up and turned to Blob. "Pack up, we're moving."

* * *

Toad lowered the telephone receiver to the cradle, and then released his furious grip. "She always has to make everything so God-damn difficult," he spoke in just over a whisper, rubbing his temples.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head over it, mate," Pyro trashed a piece of paper he'd absently picked up and begun to read, and Toad raised an eyebrow at the remark. "She's just having her fun playing leader while the rest of us do the work. She'll get hers."

"And you're not worried about Lance?"

Pyro shrugged. "'Course I'm worried, but Lance is a big boy. 'E knows how to look after himself. 'E's just had a minor setback, I'll wager."

"You hope."

"Yeah, well..." Pyro trailed off, scratching his head. He stood up and asked, "You know where Nadia is?"

"She was here before you left."

"And that helps me how? Where is she _now_?"

Toad scribbled something from the screen onto a piece of paper and shrugged. "Beats me," he replied, chewing on the end of the pencil in his hand.

Pyro wandered over to one of the other computers and began to click the mouse button, seemingly searching for something. "Damn bastard," he stated after a few moments.

"What?"

"Surveillance cam twelve."

Toad brought up the image on his screen and observed Morph sitting in his cell. "Wow, would you look at that," he remarked sarcastically. "I can't believe he'd have the audacity to be doing absolutely nothing. Good eye, Johnny, someone oughtta go down there and beat the bloody hell out of him for being so damn co-operative." He turned and discovered that if looks could kill, Pyro would be his assassin. Toad grinned.

"Okay, smart-ass, I meant that he's eating," Pyro retorted. "And since you and I are here, and Sabretooth doesn't deliver, that means that Nadia brought it to him."

"So?"

"So it wasn't her job today! Why the hell is she always going down there? I bet something's going on between-"

"Okay, you need to sit down and shut up," Toad interrupted him. Surprised, Pyro complied. "Nadia's integrity is_ not_ in question here. You realize that she could have any guy she wanted, right?"

"Yeah-"

"Yeah, but she chose you."

"Ouch, mate."

"Deal with it," Toad furrowed his eyebrows. "And stop acting like such a jackass."

* * *

Velocity was on her way back to the control room, and she spotted Sabretooth standing beside the doorway, staying out of sight from those within.

"What are you _doing_?" she asked curiously.

"Eavesdropping."

"Not really your style, is it?"

"Yeah, well, I followed Idiot-Boy here and figured they wouldn't say anything interesting if I was in the room," he bared his feline teeth in a grin.

"And have they?"

"Lance is missing, _we_'re making the transmission now, and your boyfriend doesn't trust you," he replied, listing off the high points of the conversation.

"_Shit_. I hope Lance is okay. It's not like him to..." what he had said finally clicked, "...wait, what did you say?"

"He thinks you're fooling around with the pint-sized shapeshifter," Sabretooth was eager to cause a little trouble, and hopefully see Pyro get dumped on his skinny ass.

Velocity frowned. _Why would he think that_? she wondered, her face showing visible distress. She looked up at Sabretooth, who was watching her reaction carefully.

"I _meant_ the part about us making the transmission, Hairball," she regained her dominating attitude. "As ranking officer on this mission, it'll be my responsibility to talk to Kelly." She pushed past him and he grinned again; he'd always liked her spunk. He followed her into the room.

"Alright, boys, playtime is over," she announced. "Toad, hook up that scrambler. I don't want Kelly tracing this transmission back here. Pyro and Sabretooth, go pack up the helicopter."

Toad immediately set to work, and Pyro stopped for a moment before joining Sabretooth.

"Nadia, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked her.

"I'm sorry, John," she shook her head. "We _have_ to get this finished and rendezvous with the others. Lance could be in trouble. We can talk on the helicopter."

"Oh...kay," he was a bit surprised that she wouldn't take the moment to speak with him, and followed the oddly-grinning Sabretooth out to the storage building.


	7. Suspicians

It's All Relative

Chapter Six

President Robert Kelly sat in the Oval Office, trying to somehow prepare a message to the mutants of the United States of America; a proposal for peace.

But how the hell was he going to get them to listen?

The mutant activists in this country and many others had been sparked into a movement for war by the attack on Charles Xavier. Thousands had flocked to Genosha; possibly the only place left where they were truly safe at the moment. But that would soon change unless Kelly could do something about those who lived to 'cleanse' their world of the mutant 'filth'.

Kelly shuddered to think upon the days when he had been just like them; the horrible things he had said. It made him sick to think of the Sentinels, the Mutant Registration Program, and the death and misery caused by prejudice and hatred in this country that was supposed to stand for equal rights, diversity, and, above all, freedom.

"Mr. President?" Kelly's thoughts were interrupted, and he looked up to see Jerry O'Doyle, the Secretary of Defense, standing in the doorway. "We may have a problem."

"What is it?"

"There's a mutant on the line," he replied seriously. "She wants to speak with you."

"Well, put her through to here, then," Kelly stood up, ready to receive the message. "I need to be able to reach out to the mutant community to have a better idea on how to help them and keep this country peaceful at the same time. Did you happen to get her name?"

"Yes," O'Doyle nodded gravely. "Nadia Molotova."

Kelly stood very still for a moment, his mind racing on how to handle the situation. The Brotherhood and its members were always very devoted to their cause, whatever it may be at the time. "Get Scott Summers on the line. Have him listen to what's said, and then I'll speak to him myself after I'm finished."

"Yes sir, Mr. President," O'Doyle nodded, and left the room to do so. Kelly pushed a button on his desk and the cabinet doors slid back and to the side, revealing a large viewscreen, on which Velocity's image appeared after a slight flicker.

"_Mr. President_," she smiled slightly. "_Nice to know you're not above speaking to the commoners_."

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to get to the point, Ms. Molotova," Kelly told her bluntly.

"_Naturally.__ We have recently acquired into our possession a large number of nuclear warheads, and unless you co-operate, we will have no other choice but to use them to lead the mutants of Genosha into the coming war against mankind_."

"Well, unfortunately for you, it is not in this nation's policy to negotiate with terrorists," Kelly responded.

"_But it is in your policy to harbor them_?"

"Excuse me?"

"_The Friends of Humanity have terrorized the mutant community for years, and you do nothing to stop them. How can you call America, 'The Land of the Free', when innocent mutants live in fear of their lives, hoping only to make it through the day without being beaten in the street for the way they were born?"_

"I am doing all in my power to work toward the day when mutants and humans can live together peacefully."

"_Then make your job easier, and deliver the Friends of Humanity Head Council to us_."

"I cannot do that."

"_Then we go to war_."

"A war would endanger innocent lives; human _and_ mutant," Kelly argued. "There _are_ peaceful alternatives. Not _all_ people hate mutants."

"_It is too late for these words_," Velocity shook her head. "_And I will show you why_." She snapped her fingers at someone off-screen, and the image divided in half, displaying a man huddled in a jail cell, as well as Velocity's image. A man Kelly recognized quite easily. "_Genosha__ cries out for vengeance for the crimes against their mutant brothers and sisters, and we are their salvation. If the leaders are not delivered to us, Graydon Creed Jr. will be executed in Genosha. The moment his blood stains the earth will mark the beginning of the human-mutant war_."

"What you ask isn't possible, Molotova," Kelly refused. "I will do all in my power to see justice done, but I _will_ not allow you to take the law into your own hands."

"_Then we have nothing further to discuss. You have twenty-four hours, Mr. President_," Velocity smiled evilly. "_And as further incentive, because I know the X-Men are enjoying our little conversation_-" she motioned again to the off-screen person, and the image of Creed changed to that of Morph in his cell, "-_everybody's favourite little shapeshifter will join Mr. Creed in Genosha and share his fate_."

* * *

"No!" Cyclops was the only one who could manage to speak through his shock.

"_Goodbye, Mr. President_," Velocity stated, and the transmission ended. A moment later, Kelly's image replaced it.

"_Cyclops_," he said gravely. "_I'm sorry to put this on you, but I need the X-Men's help_."

"We'll do whatever it takes to stop them, Mr. President," Cyclops replied. "This one's _just_ become _very_ personal."

"_I'm about to send your team on a Black Ops mission, Mr. Summers_," Kelly went on. "_I want you to use any means you deem necessary to safely recover the hostages, as well as keeping those nukes from being used. The hostage Creed is to be brought back here for sentencing for his past crimes_."

"I understand," the other nodded. "We'll soon have this under control."

A man Cyclops recognized as the Secretary of Defense handed Kelly a piece of paper, which the President quickly reviewed. "_On a side note_," he continued. "_It seems that a scrambled call was made to Mortimer Toynbee's apartment there in New York City. I want you to check it out; it's probable that the missing Brotherhood members may be located there_."

"Agreed. Thank you, sir. Cyclops out," he saluted Kelly.

* * *

President Kelly returned the salute and the image disappeared. He turned to Jerry O'Doyle, seeing the troubled look on the Secretary's face.

"Are you sure that this is the best idea, sir?" he asked. "I can have the military assembled in a couple hours, and we'll have this under control ourselves."

"The transmission was scrambled, Jerry," Kelly shook his head. "We don't know where they are."

"We have an elite team working on that. The signal will be overridden before long."

"By then it will be too late. Believe me, Jerry, these people are _smart_. Toynbee alone borders the line of sheer genius. We have to approach this situation delicately, and the X-Men are professionals in this area." He put his hand on O'Doyle's shoulder. "We have to trust them." _I owe it to Charles to trust them_, he thought. "Besides," Kelly added. "The less the public hears about a nuclear threat, the better. We don't need any more mass panic than we already have."

O'Doyle sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, sir."

"Yes, I do."

* * *

Cyclops turned to face the worried gazes of his teammates. "I know you're all worried about Morph, because I am too."

"Dat's why we gonna go wherever you lead us ta get him back, _mon__ ami_," Gambit assured him.

Cyclops smiled thankfully at the Cajun. "I need a team to check out the Toad's apartment. Storm; take Rogue and Gambit with you. Report _anything_ that you find there."

"You can count on us, my friend," Storm assured him. "We shall not fail you." She left the room with Gambit following. Rogue hesitated a moment, and then approached Cyclops.

"Hey, Scott?" Rogue addressed him. "Ah been meanin' ta talk to ya 'bout what Ah said last week. 'Bout y'all not actin' like a leader? Ah was jus' havin' a li'l trouble, what with losin' the Professor an' all. An' now with what Mama and ma sister are doin', well heck, y'all are ma real family now. Anyway, what Ah mean ta say is that, Ah didn't mean what Ah said. Y'all are a great leader."

Cyclops smiled, so grateful for her words of belief in his leadership abilities; words that he needed to hear from his team. "Thank you, Rogue. You have no idea how much I appreciate that."

"Ah think mebbe Ah do jus' a little," she winked. "Heck, Ah was mighty 'preciative when y'all took me in after all the terrible stuff Ah did. Y'all accepted me, an' mebbe yah jus' needed a li'l acceptance yourself." She extended her hand to him.

He shook it.

Rogue turned to leave and Cyclops looked up to see Jean standing in the doorway. She smiled at Rogue as she passed, then walked to Cyclops.

"Don't say it," he smirked, taking into his arms and kissing her.

"I told you so," she said it.

Cyclops grinned, and then looked up at Beast, still in the room, watching with a knowing smile on his furry blue face. "Where's Wolverine?" he asked him.

"I believe that he and Jubilation are presently awaiting young Mr. Alver's awakening," Beast informed him.

"Alvers is probably our best bet to finding out where Nadia and the others are," Cyclops nodded thoughtfully. "Let's go see if we can't quicken his recovery."

* * *

Jubilee studied Avalanche's still form lying on the bed. Her eyes moved from the blood-soaked bandages that wrapped his wounded shoulder, to his sickly-pale face and the sweaty strands of dark brown hair that framed it.

She looked up at Wolverine. "Does it scare you?"

He raised a questioning eyebrow, holding back the urge to sarcastically inform her that there were but two mind-readers in the mansion, and he was not one of them. "Does what scare me?"

"To know that you almost killed him last night?"

He shrugged. "If I didn't get him, he woulda got me."

"That's what scares _me_," she replied. "It's bad enough what the Friends of Humanity and the Sentinels do to mutants, but mutants even attack each other! You two meet in the street and nearly _kill_ each other!" She took a breath to calm herself, and used the tail of her yellow coat to wipe the beads of sweat from Avalanche's brow. "I just think that maybe if we want to convince humanity to live peacefully with us, then we have to live peacefully with other mutants first."

Wolverine stared at her, recognizing the wisdom in her words; wisdom beyond her years. _A fifteen-year-old kid who can see what so many others fail to see_. But the good thing was: she was the future, and with these views and opinions, perhaps there _was_ hope after all.

"You're right, kid," he said. "It does scare me. It scares me every time I think about the power I have, and what that power can do every time I lose my temper. I'm scared that life has gone as far as 'kill or be killed'. I'm scared that someone innocent's gonna get hurt someday," he glanced down at Avalanche. "An' though this kid ain't exactly innocent, he ain't done half as much bad as I've done in my life."

"It doesn't..." she was watching him nervously, "make you want to leave again, does it?"

He reached out and took the girl's hand in his. "I ain't goin' nowhere, Jubes. I'm an X-Men. An' if I learned anything from Xavier, it's that I got responsibilities with that name."

She embraced him tightly as the Infirmary door slid open, and Cyclops, Jean, and Beast entered. Jean had a knowing smile on her face.

_Well, whadda ya think, Jeanny? _He thought, knowing she was listening. _You were the one who wanted me to talk to someone._

_I'm so very proud of you, Logan._

"What's up, everyone?" Wolverine asked, smiling inside at Jean's response. "You come ta watch the show? Rocky here ain't doin' much, but if ya stick around, sometimes his eyelid flickers," he grinned sarcastically. "All very interesting."

"Actually, we're looking to give his act a little push," Cyclops replied. "Beast, see what you can do. I don't care what his condition is; I want him awake."

"Immediately," Beast moved to the bedside.

"Logan," Jean motioned for him to talk to her privately, and he approached her.

"What is it, Jeanny?" He could sense trouble.

"It's Morph," she frowned. "Th--they're executing him and Graydon Creed in Genosha."

"_No_," he clenched his teeth. "If _anything_ happens to him, I won't rest till I've hunted down each and every one of 'em and avenged him."

"It won't come to that," she assured him. "We're going to find out from him-" she pointed to Avalanche, "-where Velocity's squad is, and we've sent a team to the Toad's apartment. There's evidence that Mystique's squad has been hiding there."

"And when we find out where they are?"

"Well, Beast and Forge still aren't finished the repairs on the Blackbird," Jean replied. "Without it, we may have a bit of a problem, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. President Kelly has assigned to us a covert operation to stop the Brotherhood by any means necessary."

Before Wolverine could respond, Jubilee tapped him on the shoulder. "He's awake."

"Fantastic," Wolverine growled, stalking over to the bed. "Welcome back, Sleepin' Beauty."

"Where the hell am I?" he looked around, and realized that his hands and feet were heavily restrained, preventing the use of his powers. "Get these things offa me, assholes!"

"Besides having no desire to having our residence reduced to but a pile of rubble," Beast said, "it is in my professional opinion that it would be unwise for you to move on your own. You may very probably cause further damage to yourself."

"And who's fault is that?" he glared at Wolverine, who snarled back.

"Listen, pal," Cyclops grabbed Avalanche by the lower half of his face, his fingertips digging into his jawbone. "We're asking the questions here. Where's the rest of your team hiding Morph?"

Avalanche wrenched free of Cyclops' grasp, accidentally straining his shoulder as he knocked him away. "As if I'd tell you!" was all he could manage through a wince as the pain immediately throbbed.

Jubilee hated all the arguing; it would never get them anywhere, and she should know. Her eyes wandered to the laptop set on the nearby desk, and she had an idea: maybe there was something on its files that would lend a clue as to the Brotherhood's whereabouts. She walked over and plugged in the small adapter, and then turned it on. After booting up, the computer seemed to take on a mind of its own. Different program applications screens flashed on and off, until one message panel finally stayed. _Processing Satellite Connection_...

"Uh...guys?" Jubilee raised an eyebrow.

* * *

"Nadia? I kinda wanna tell you something about..." Toad let his words trail off as his attention was grabbed by one of the computer screens where a panel had suddenly popped up. The machine hummed with new life, and Toad was did not bother to hide his confusion.

"Something about what?" Velocity completed the sentence for him.

"Hang on a tick." He moved over to the console and tapped a couple keys. "What...the...hell?"

"What's wrong?"

"Something," he admitted. "It's connecting to my computer...at home. Why would they...I told them to get..." he seemed to have lost all ability to finish his statements.

Velocity moved closer to watch over his shoulder, and it wasn't long before a window came up, displaying a very pale and bedraggled looking Avalanche.

"Lance?" the two asked in unison, staring in disbelief.

"_Uh...hey guys_," he sounded nervous.

"_Jesus_, you look like shit," Toad said.

"_Yeah, I ran into a little...trouble_," he replied. His jaw was darkly bruised and the colour of his face along with the sweat running down his red cheeks suggested that he was probably running a fever.

"Mystique said you were missing."

"_I'm here now, aren't I_?" his words reflected his normal, arrogant self, but his tone did not. His dark eyes were darting back and forth. It occurred to Toad that he was trying to tell them something. _Some_thing was definitely up.

* * *

Jean had an idea, but she had to move fast. Velocity and Toad were getting very suspicious, and she knew Avalanche was trying to warn them of what was _really_ going on, despite the fact that Wolverine was standing behind the laptop, casting threatening looks at him.

_Psylocke__, I need your help in the Infirmary, right now,_ she telepathically called her friend. _Be as quiet as possible; communication this way only._

_Already there, babe_, was the reply.

Cyclops, Beast, and Jubilee were standing nearby, feeling very useless. Their biggest problem was that Beast couldn't trace the signal without being in view of the screen. That was why Jean's plan had to work. She had remembered how she had manipulated the machines in the peculiar Mojo's TV studio with psycho-kinetic energy. Now, with Psylocke's power added to her own, they could, theoretically, 'piggyback' their brain waves on the satellite waves straight to the machine Toad was seated at now.

And the advantage to being a mind-reader was that Psylocke already knew the plan.

The ninja-telepath entered the room and ran toward Jean. She gracefully dive-rolled across the floor, preventing herself from being caught on-screen, landed on her feet in front of Jean, and clasped the red-haired mutant's outstretched hand.

Cyclops's unique psychic connection with Jean gave him a mental twinge as the force of the women's powerful linked minds exploded through the circuitry as they completely focused their consciousness on tracing the satellite's signal.

_Jean..._

_Professor??_

* * *

__

Toad and Velocity exchanged confused glances and turned back to Avalanche. "Where are you?" he asked.

"_At_..." his eyes drifted off-screen and he bit his lower lip, "_your place, duh_."

"I told Mystique to clear out of there."

"What's going on-"

Velocity was cut off as the computer hummed louder, and sparks flew out from the popping circuitry and rained down on them. Velocity threw up her hands to protect her face, falling to the floor as she started backwards and slipped. Toad suddenly felt a determined presence in his mind; one that had just used the information there to discover their location.

"Oh, _shit_!" he spat, leaping backwards, trying to distance himself from the PSI-infected computer. "It's Jean! She's pegged us...right through here!" he pointed at the console.

"_Get out, you guys_!" Avalanche exclaimed. "_They used me to get to you! I'm at their_-"

Wolverine came into view as he punched Avalanche unconscious. "_See ya soon, Bub_," he snarled savagely, then the screen went fuzzy after a close-up of his fist.

"We've got to move!" Velocity cried angrily, picking herself up off the floor. "Now!"

"No _shit_," Toad hissed.

They raced through the base to the detention block, and Toad punched in the code to open the cell doors, and then entered Creed's.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Morph asked curiously.

"We're leaving," Velocity stated bluntly, pointing his own gun at his head. "Move it."

"Okay, okay, just relax, Nadia," he moved out of the cell with his hands raised in submission. "It's not like I've got anywhere to go if I _did_ get the bright idea to make a break for it, right?" He was being serious, and she knew he would co-operate.

_Oh, God._

And now she felt sick to her stomach as she realized her promise to Kelly would soon become a reality. She assumed that either Morph wasn't fully aware of the details of their plot, or he did not think that they would go through with it. He was sure that they were using him as insurance to be left alone, or for a ransom, and that sooner or later, they would let him go home.

And she was going to have to kill him.

She didn't want to; not the least little bit. He'd done nothing wrong but been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And anyone who did their X-homework knew that Morph had a history of doing just that. His ordeals with the Sentinels, and then with Mr. Sinister gave her a true respect for the strength he really had inside him.

Her stomach tightened, but she held her composure and slowly lowered the gun. "Okay, let's go," she said, and Morph followed Toad, who was half-dragging Creed by his hair, out the door.

* * *

"Professor!" Jean exclaimed as she and Psylocke emerged from their psychic trance.

"Jean?" Cyclops snapped his head around to look at her. "What is it?"

"I heard him," she explained. "I heard his voice in my head. He helped us trace that signal, I know he did!"

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but it's true." She turned to Psylocke. "You heard him too, didn't you?" Psylocke, who had gone white as a ghost, had been visibly shaken by whatever had happened. She nodded without hesitation. "He's trying to contact us, I know it," Jean smiled triumphantly.

"Jean, what about the Brotherhood?" Cyclops asked.

"Yeah, how do we get to 'em?" Wolverine added.

"I have a feeling that whatever the Professor has to say will have to do with that," she replied, and tugged on Psylocke's hand that she still held tightly. "We have to meet him." The two women ran with purpose to the door.

"Meet him _where_?"

"The Astral Plain."

* * *

Pyro glared at Sabretooth as he stacked another crate into the helicopter - a Russian gunship that had been stored at the base. He knew something that Pyro didn't, and the Aussie had decided that it was time to find out what that was.

"What are you grinning about?" he scowled.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sabretooth gloated, shooting a toothy grin at him.

"I've got my suspicions, mate," Pyro turned away, deciding that the best way to get the information out of him was to act like he honestly couldn't give a damn what the wonderful secret was.

"About me…or about your girlfriend?"

Pyro froze. "What did you say?" Sabretooth turned his back to him, continuing to pack the helicopter. Pyro grabbed the bigger man's muscular arm and turned him around with all of his strength. "What did you _say_?"

"Well, well," Sabretooth cackled in amusement. "You _do_ have balls after all."

"Don't make me ask you again."

Sabretooth stared into Pyro's burning eyes, trying to work his power of intimidation, but Pyro held his ground. "Your woman didn't look too impressed when I told her what I heard you say about her in there," he loomed over him.

Pyro's anger raged at Sabretooth's blatant uncaring for what he had done. "You son of a bitch! How could you tell her that? I was _ranting_ for God's sake!"

Sabretooth laughed; Pyro's anger was doing nothing but amusing him. "She asked me if I'd heard anything interesting. Besides, you said it, runt. I ain't startin' no rumors."

"Uh...I..." Pyro stammered, then blurted, "_Fuck you_!"

His flame-thrower clicked as he activated it, and his mutant power kicked in as he shot a wave of fire at Sabretooth from the tubes on his arms. The big mutant howled wildly in pain as the sickly-sweet stench of singed fur and burning flesh filled the air. He ducked out of the flames and furiously snatched a fist-full of Pyro's blond locks. The fire disappeared as Pyro's hands clasped over Sabretooth's, trying to lessen the agony of his hair being slowly ripped out. He frantically kicked his legs as Sabretooth lifted him off of the ground.

"Now you die," he snarled.


	8. A Long Flight

It's All Relative

Chapter Seven

"_Confirmed mutant activity_," Cerebro's voice echoed throughout the room. "_Mutant identified: John Allerdyce. Affiliation: Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Codename: Pyro_."

Cerebro continued on, listing the, luckily, unnecessary information, as it fell upon deaf ears. The only two in the room - Jean Grey and Psylocke - were so deep in concentration that their brains didn't even register that they'd heard the words.

Mentally, they weren't even _in_ the room at all.

Jean looked around the blackness of the Astral Plain, seeing only the vast legions of twinkling stars. _Professor?_ she called. _Where are you?_ She turned around to face Psylocke's glowing outline - the mental projection of herself in this place. _Betsy? Do you see him?_

_All I see is a whole lotta nothin', sister_, Psylocke shook her head.

_I know he's here_, Jean frowned. _I can sense him_... Her attention focused on a star as it suddenly began to grow bigger and brighter, eventually taking form.

_Professor!_ Jean exclaimed happily, rushing over to the man who'd watched her powers develop as she matured from a child to a beautiful young woman. _You're really here!_

Professor Charles Xavier smiled, his eyes filled with tears, as he embraced Jean warmly. At his side, Empress Lilandra of the Shi'ar stood proudly, one hand resting gently on her soulmate's shoulder.

* * *

Pyro struggled against Sabretooth's grip. His scalp screamed its excruciating pain, presenting itself as blinding white light behind the lids of his tightly shut eyes.

Sabretooth could hear the skin on Pyro's head being slowly ripped out with his hair; could smell his terrible fear and his intense pain; could almost taste the blood as it mingled with his sweat and ran down his face...and he sneered gleefully. Sabretooth was getting an incredible rush off the mere _idea_ of killing this little shit. He would have to savour this moment; it would be sweet.

With a quick flick of his wrist, he could snap Pyro's neck. But that wouldn't be nearly satisfying enough. No, no, he wanted to hear him _scream_.

Sabretooth lifted him a little higher until he was at eye level, and Pyro continued to desperately claw at Sabretooth's arm in hopes to pull himself up just enough to ease the strain on his neck and hair.

"Look at me," he growled sadistically, and Pyro painfully forced his eyes open. As Sabretooth slashed open Pyro's shirt and traced a bloody design on his chest with one razor-sharp claw, however, his eyes rolled back into his head. "You have about two _seconds_ for any last words."

Pyro managed a few strangled groans and frantically kicked at Sabretooth's crotch, but to no avail. The big mutant thrust the five clawed digits of his free hand into his victim's stomach, wrenching and burrowing deep into the soft flesh there. Pyro's eyes bulged and he clenched his teeth as the sticky red blood oozed from his abdomen. His breathing was ragged and he emitted horrible hurting moans in his throat, but he still refused to give Sabretooth the satisfaction of a scream.

"Bye, bye, Jackass," Sabretooth hissed.

* * *

Velocity, Toad, and Morph emerged from the main building of the military base with Creed in tow, heading for the helipad. Velocity stopped suddenly, her mouth open in a look of utter horror.

"_John_-"

Toad followed her gaze. "Oh, God."

Velocity dropped Morph's gun and bolted all-out to where Sabretooth stood with Pyro in his clutches, Toad and Morph following as fast as possible. She drove a high-speed shoulder into his stomach, causing him to drop his victim to the snowy ground and take a few steadying steps backward. Gripping her still-tender ribs that had been jolted in the impact, Velocity dropped to her knees and wrapped Pyro in her arms, her eyes settling on the bloodstained snow that lay where his chest had landed.

"Very heartwarming," the feral voice behind her stated. "Now get out of my way so I can finish the job."

"How dare you?" she hissed over her shoulder. "How _dare_ you?! Does being a member of this team mean _nothing_ to you?"

"He pushed me to it," he replied simply, and she noticed the quickly-healing raw burns on his face and body. "Now, I'm ordering you to get the hell out of my way."

"_You_'re ordering _me_?" She stood up and faced him, carefully shielding Pyro. "_I_ outrank you!"

"Not in size, little girl."

"Back off, freak," Toad bounded to Velocity's side. "You don't _even_ wanna mess with me right now."

"Ooh, two on one," Sabretooth taunted. "I think I can handle that."

"How 'bout number three with a bullet?" Morph asked, stepping around Velocity's other side and aiming his recovered gun squarely between Sabretooth's eyes.

"_Who_ do you think you _are_?" the big man snapped.

"Oh, just your friendly, neighborhood shapeshifter, here to stand up for the little guy."

The comment prompted a muffled reply from Pyro, who was still lying curled on the snow which sounded an awful lot like, "_rip-off_."

"Get in the helicopter," Velocity's furious green eyes locked with Sabretooth's. He regarded her, and then looked briefly at the other three before him, settling his gaze on Pyro.

"Ah, he ain't worth it, anyways," he waved his hand in disgust in their direction, and then climbed aboard the helicopter.

Velocity dropped to her knees and held Pyro close to her, staining her jacket with his blood.

"Nadia-"

"Ssh," she put her finger to his lips. "You'll be okay. I've got this under control."

"No, love, I've gotta say," he continued, "what I said, y'know? I didn't mean it. I was just stressed. I know you'd never do that. I'm sorry."

"I know," she ran her fingers through his blood-slick hair. "It's alright."

Toad turned to Morph, scratching the back of his head. "Hey, man, thanks, y'know? Standing up to him is risking your life, and you didn't have to do that for us."

"Well, y'know, I _was_ still a little peeved over when he threw the Institute's gate at me, so consider it a favour," Morph grinned knowingly, and extended his hand, which Toad shook gratefully.

* * *

Cyclops, Wolverine, Beast, and Jubilee crowded around the door to the room where Cerebro was located. They were all anxious to know what Jean had meant when she and Psylocke had rushed off. Could they really be talking to the Professor?

Cyclops remembered the instance where Jean had met the Professor on the Astral Plain before, to bring him out of the Shadow King's control. Not being a telepath, he didn't exactly understand the whole concept of astral-projection, but he imagined it to require a great deal of concentration. Could Xavier, in his weakened state, really be able to accomplish such a mentally strenuous task?

He leaned against the wall and heaved a tired sigh. Of course he could. He was the most powerful known telepath in the world, and one of the most powerful in the universe. With Lilandra at his aid, why couldn't he do it? After all, that rock or crystal or whatever it had been that the Shi'ar Empress had put on Xavier's forehead before they'd left had visibly given him strength. Who knows what kind of technology they had across the galaxies to re-build his mind? A wide selection, he guessed; they were a powerful Empire, after all...

Cyclops cast a wistful look at the closed door and frowned. They were taking an awful long time. How long did it take to astral-project oneself? He couldn't even fathom a guess, though he supposed it would take quite some time to achieve the desired level of meditation. He shrugged inwardly, and silently prayed that, whatever the Professor had to tell them, it could assist them in stopping the Brotherhood before it was too late.

* * *

Jean released the Professor from her embrace and looked at him, still smiling. _Your condition is improving then, Professor?_

He nodded, but also caught the meaning beneath her words. _Under the care of the Shi'ar, my neural-kinetics are nearly fully restored to normal functioning. Unfortunately, for my condition to remain stable, I must continue to reside with the Shi'ar_.

Jean nodded sadly. _I understand, Professor. I j--_we_ miss you so much_.

_Not a moment goes by when I do not think upon each and every one of my students_, Xavier replied comfortingly. _You are all strong, and smart enough to recognize when a problem is beyond your control_. He turned to Psylocke, and the ninja approached him and bowed respectfully. _Betsy Braddock. I am honoured to call you a friend, and your help is greatly appreciated_.

_You know what's been going on?_ Psylocke inquired.

_My people have been monitoring the actions of your planet closely_, Lilandra explained.

_And it deeply saddens me to see that mutants have reacted so violently to my unfortunate attack_, Xavier nodded.

_I sensed that you had information to tell me that would help_, Jean urged them.

_I regret, Jean Grey, that my jurisdiction over my Empire forbids me to directly interfere with outside affairs_.

_I understand_, Jean nodded sadly.

_There is, however, a way that Charles and I have thought of that I can help you that would not be considered 'interference'_, Lilandra continued. _Are you prepared to accept the responsibility of what I am about to tell you?_

_I am ready._

* * *

Rogue flopped down on the worn couch in Toad's apartment after discovering absolutely nothing helpful as to where the other Brotherhood members were going, while Gambit and Storm continued to search the rest of the near-empty cramped dwelling. She figured that it suited him well enough since he lived on his own, but she couldn't imagine Mystique, Avalanche, and the Blob all taking refuge within the tiny area. It would have been impossible to turn around without bumping into one of the other two.

The Brotherhood's survival tactics, however amazing as they were, were not foremost on Rogue's mind. The first time she'd actually _seen_ her sister during this fiasco, not including the trail of dust behind her as she ran, had been that transmission to President Kelly. During which she'd threatened the life of an X-Man - and one they'd just gotten back at that. And to top it off, during the week of unsuccessful searching for the Brotherhood, Jean had told Rogue about the massacre in Russia; the one Velocity was responsible for along with Sabretooth.

Rogue had never imagined that her sister was capable of such atrocity. Mass murder was far worse than anything they'd ever done back when she was still with the Brotherhood. Whatever Mystique had done to her over the years had turned her into a stone-cold killer. Rogue wanted her sister back so badly, but she knew that she would have to pay for her severe crimes.

"It ain't fair," she muttered to herself, allowing her head to flop forward into her hands, elbows propped up by her knees.

"Pardon me, Rogue?" Storm asked from her left.

"Nothin'," Rogue shook her head. "Ah was jus' talkin' ta myself."

"Under such stressful conditions, I suppose it is only natural," Storm smiled knowingly.

"Ah guess," she shrugged off the comment, not really feeling ready to unload her troubles on Storm at the moment. It wasn't that she didn't trust the wind rider, but that her thoughts were such a jumble already, so she didn't have any idea how to put them into words. "This hole's deserted, Sugah. Ah say we high-tail it on outta here."

"Gambit agrees, _chère_," the Cajun emerged from the adjoining bedroom. "Dis be getting us nowhere."

"Alright," Storm conceded, and switched on her communicator.

* * *

"_Storm to Cyclops_," her voice broke in over his communicator, disturbing the already uncomfortable silence outside Cerebro's room.

"Go ahead, Storm," he acknowledged her.

"_The Toad's apartment has been abandoned_," she informed him simply.

"I thought as much," Cyclops frowned in disappointment. "Is there anything there at all?"

"_Emptier'n the swamp rat's head_," Rogue's voice stated in the background, and Cyclops and Wolverine exchanged an approving grin.

"You'd better just get back here, then," he ordered, explaining what they had discovered. "If my suspicions are right, Jean is learning how to stop them as we speak."

"_We are on our way_."

* * *

Henry Gyrich looked up as a man approached the Friends of Humanity head council. Gyrich was standing before them in the darkened theatre-like room, explaining how Trask's invention worked. Their attention was immediately diverted to the new man, and Gyrich felt a slight pang of jealousy.

"I have information from our plant in the Whitehouse," the man announced.

"Excellent," the first council member replied.

"Tell us what you know," the second demanded.

"Kelly has the X-Men on a covert operation," he relayed the news.

"Mutants on Special Forces," the third sneered. "Disgusting."

"That's not all. They've been sent to stop another group of rebel mutants - the Brotherhood - who say that they will declare war on mankind if you are not turned over to them. As of now, half of the members are in New York, and half are missing. They are also-" he hesitated for a split second, "-threatening to execute Graydon Creed."

If the council hadn't been wearing their hoods, Gyrich and the messenger would have been able to see the tight-lipped frowns on each man's face.

"Creed's mission was to cleanse his reputation and his soiled ancestry," the first finally said. "Obviously he failed, and we now stand to lose a powerful ally."

"Undoubtedly, those of his lineage are part of this Brotherhood?" the fourth asked.

"Mystique and Sabretooth are both involved," the messenger confirmed.

"I would wager that the 'missing' members plan to make contact with those in New York," the second thought aloud. "Perhaps we should find out where this mysterious rendezvous point is located."

* * *

Rogue, Storm and Gambit hurried through the maze-like halls of the Institute toward Cerebro's lab. Each wondering with half-excitement and half-apprehension about what the Professor was telling Jean. Was it good news or bad? What was in store for their team - nine mutant freedom fighters who had never faced anything quite this severely important before?

"Cyclops?" Rogue called his name as they rounded the corner to see four of their teammates by the door. "Heard anythin' yet?"

"They've been in there for hours," he shook his head. "I don't know-"

The door clicked open.

"Scott," Jean began. "I know how to stop them." She had their undivided attention. "Lilandra gave me the codes to operate the Shi'ar prison ship located in the Morlock tunnels. We can use it to intercept the Brotherhood."

"How do we find them?" Jubilee asked.

"Now that we have isolated the Toad's brain waves, we can use Cerebro to track them," Jean replied.

"In other words, they can run but they can't hide," Psylocke simplified.

"Ah hear ya, girl," Rogue nodded.

"All right, here's the plan," Cyclops spoke up after working everything out in his mind. "Psylocke, you operate Cerebro. We'll contact you for their position when we've got the ship operational. Jubilee, we'll keep an open channel to you here. If something goes wrong, you need to contact Kelly. We may need some presidential influence."

"Check, Cyke," Jubilee gave a thumbs-up, neglecting to complain about being left behind again. She knew enough not to push in such a serious situation.

"Beast, continue repairs on the Blackbird," Cyclops went on. "Also, prep the Infirmary. We have to be ready for anything." There was a unanimous round of nods. "The rest of us are going to the Morlock tunnels."

* * *

The Russian helicopter glided through the chilly ocean air. The Brotherhood - namely Toad - had rigged the machine with an extra gas tank, and had also increased how fast it could go by rewiring it with a jet engine. Now the sound of the motor and the whirling rotary blades was the only thing to hear for miles. That was because, even after hours of flying, the only spoken words from the six passengers were the barely audible mumblings from the crazed Graydon Creed Jr.

Velocity was leaning against the back of the pilot's seat, which Toad occupied. Her furious green eyes bore into Sabretooth as she gently caressed Pyro's hair, his head lying in her lap as he feverishly slept.

"_What_?" he finally exclaimed. He sounded like he was asking an honest question, as if he didn't even think he'd done anything wrong.

She turned away, disgusted with him. How could he be so blatantly uncaring about his actions? His one thought in his mind seemed to be centred around killing. He had no respect for life. And in that moment the hypocrisy of the thought hit like a slap in the face, following by a overbearing wave of nausea. Was she any better than him? Had she not murdered those Russian soldiers at the base? She remembered the boyish good looks of the young guard she'd sent out to the truck; out to Sabretooth; out to death.

_That was different,_ she desperately tried to convince herself. _Pyro_ is different from that guard. The sensations he made her experience were drawn to the front of her consciousness: the feathery feel of his blond hair, the erotic twinge she felt when he spoke in his thick Australian accent, the sensual pleasure of his soft lips as they gently brushed over hers, then focussed on her neck and shoulders. _Yes_. He was different because of how he made her feel; because she loved him. _Somebody loved that boy. Even if it wasn't like that, he was _some_body's son. _Stop it. _Somewhere, there is a poor woman who has lost her child._

Velocity clenched her teeth, willing herself to stop thinking, forcing the tears of remorse to stay inside. She focussed her glare on Sabretooth again; it was easier just to blame him. But the thoughts kept coming, along with the haunting images of the boy's honest face. _I killed him_.

* * *

It wasn't hard convincing the Morlock guards - Ape and Leech - of their mission, and then Gambit and Wolverine led the way through the tunnels, having been the only currently present X-Men to have been to the crash site back when the Spirit Drinker had accidentally been released. Wolverine sniffed out their path, and Gambit lit the way with a kinetically charged playing card.

"Dare it is, _mes amis_," Gambit announced as they emerged from the tunnel into an enormous cavern. The Shi'ar craft glowed a dull green as it lay on the cool rock.

"Huh, talk about a fixer-upper," Rogue eyed the three large slashes in the ship's hull. "Sure looks like familiar handiwork."

"Yeah, yeah," Wolverine griped. "So how we gonna get this bucket o' bolts ta fly, anyway?"

"With a little faith," Jean replied and entered the ship via the hole. The rest followed her. The interior of the spacecraft was in disarray. Piles of scrap metal lay at the back where the Spirit Drinker had apparently taken out its frustrations on parts of the machinery. The main controls, however, were still intact. "Rogue, would you get the door?"

Rogue followed Jean's hand gesture to the scrap metal and understood. "With pleasure, Sugah." She flew over and picked up a large sheet. Carrying it over to the gaping hole, she folded the edges of the metal together, pinching tight shut any gaps between them. When she stepped back, it was sealed like new.

"All right, everyone," Jean approached the main controls. "Keep your fingers crossed." As she touched the keypad, Shi'ar symbols appeared on the screen, and Jean understood them as asking for a security code. She punched in a series of glyph-like characters, and the screen glowed green as the ship's engines hummed to life.

"Good work, Jean," Cyclops breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hang on, guys," Jean said as she gripped the steering mechanism and prepared for departure. She absently moved one hand to a nearby lever and, as if guided by some unseen force, slowly slid it upward, subconsciously knowing that she'd just activated the cloaking device. That would get them to the surface without causing _too_ much of a commotion.

* * *

Jubilee nervously tapped her foot from her spot behind Psylocke. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. They should have found the ship by now. The more anxious she got, the louder she chewed her bubblegum, and Pyslocke was struggling to remain chilled.

"Listen, kid, just relax, okay?" she tried to sound friendly. "The guys'll have this under control before you know it."

"I hope you're right," Jubilee replied, not sounding to sure. "I just have this icky feeling in my stomach, y'know?"

"And that gave you the urge to come and bug the hell outta me?" Psylocke muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothin'."

Jubilee shrugged, then heard Cyclops's voice through the two-way radio in her ear. "_Jubilee_?"

"I'm here, Cyke."

"_We're ready. Have you guys got the Brotherhood's location_?"

"Um, Miss Braddock? They need to know where the 'copter is," Jubilee relayed.

"I've got 'em pegged," Psylocke nodded. "Moving due west over the Atlantic Ocean. Toynbee's got Times Square on the brain. I betcha that's where they're meeting up with Blob and Mystique."

Jubilee told Cyclops what she'd said. "_Okay, we're on it_," Cyclops replied. "_Jubilee, I'm leaving the radio on, now, and I'm counting on you if something goes wrong_."

"Aye, aye, Captain," she made a salute, even though he couldn't see it.

* * *

Morph was sitting in the front of the helicopter with Toad, thoughtfully twiddling his thumbs. He'd spent most of the trip pondering the recent events, his attention having only swayed with Sabretooth's one-word question a few hours back, in hopes of a possible conversation to overhear. Now, he looked out the window, and beheld only water as far as the eye could see.

He put his feet up and crossed his arms, an uncharacteristic frown on his face. He wrinkled his nose at the calmness of the water and, in a sense, at how peaceful the world was before chaos would break loose. He didn't know what the Brotherhood was planning, but he wasn't so ignorant not to have noticed the nuclear radiation warning labels on the crates they'd loaded into the helicopter.

Toad coughed to clear his throat, and Morph turned his head to look at him, hoping he would break the silence. He was not disappointed.

"You weren't part of the original plan, y'know," he stated it more as a fact than a question of Morph's knowledge. "Kidnapping you, I mean. We kinda had to improvise on that." He snorted. "Blame the big bastard if you want, I dunno, but I heard he was just protectin' Nad."

There was a displeased grunt from behind them, and Morph raised an eyebrow in that direction before replying. "Protecting her from Wolverine, who was trying to protect me. An ironic double jeopardy, as it were," he chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, well, jus' thought you should know," Toad abruptly tried to end the conversation.

"Why just now?" Toad didn't reply. "I'm getting the feeling that I play a larger role in this now, am I right?"

"A mite larger, yeah," he nodded. "Till we get to Genosha anyway. Then...um..." he trailed off, then turned to look at him. "Well, listen, mate. You're all right, and it's a sodding shame you had to get mixed up in all this."

Morph nodded. "Thanks, man. I really am glad to hear that in a way. Good to know that you guys haven't wanted to bump me off the whole time, and now decided to kill two birds with one stone, y'know?" he chuckled again, trying very hard to keep the situation light. Brooding over the future wouldn't help.

"I guess."

Velocity leaned over between the two seats and squeezed Toad's shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Nad," Toad shrugged. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've been flying for hours without a break," she replied. "I don't want you to burn out."

"Nah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

A moment passed, and he shook his head. She leaned closer to him, and he spoke in a hushed voice. "Look, Nadia, do we really gotta go through with this and waste the guy?" Her face fell, and he continued. "I mean, it's not like it's a vital part of the plan that he goes. Sabretooth doesn't even know you said we would do it, so why the hell can't we just, y'know, dump him off in the Big Apple before we hit Genosha?" He looked up at her, and saw in her eyes that she was struggling with the exact same question, especially after he'd helped protect Pyro. Toad turned back to the front, and she squeezed his shoulder again before returning to the back.

* * *

It was dusk when the X-Men finally located the helicopter about ten miles off the coast of Staten Island. They were relieved; they'd been worried that the hours spent contacting the Professor, and then actually finding the Shi'ar ship, and getting it to operational status, had counted against them. But the sophisticated technology of the alien spacecraft had made up for the lost time, and its abilities surpassed by far the gunship's even after the upgrading.

"We got 'em," Wolverine snarled.

"We have to do this carefully, team," Cyclops warned. "Remember: Morph is with them. We can't risk getting him hurt."

Jean maneuvered the ship, flying beside the chopper. She was surprised at how fast it was moving - much faster than any normal helicopter. Toad must have done a hell of a job on the modifications.

"All right, Jean," Cyclops nodded. "Decloak us."

* * *

Morph snapped his head up for the third time in five minutes. He was so tired; how long had they been flying now? He couldn't even fathom a guess. That would require the problem-solving kind of thinking, and he was having enough trouble trying to keep his eyes open. He absently hoped that Toad wasn't having the same trouble.

He could now see New York City out of the front window. It looked so beautiful, all lit up against the coming night. It was then that he felt a twinge of homesickness. _So close, and yet so far away_. He turned his head to gaze out the side window, feeling himself drift off again, when the entire window was suddenly filled with green glowing lights.

Morph jumped back in surprise and succeeding in whacking his head against the top of the helicopter, and then fell back, crashing into Toad.

"What the hell's gotten into you?" Toad struggled to keep control of the copter. He turned to face Morph, and his jaw dropped. "Nadia? I think we might have a problem 'ere."

Velocity appeared between the seats again, eyes widening at the sight of the green glowing machine. "Where did it _come_ from?"

"It just appeared out of nowhere!" Morph was still a bit freaked out.

A voice projected from the ship over the sound of the two engines; a very recognizable voice. "_Velocity, it's over. There's nowhere to go_."

"_Summers_," both Velocity and Toad hissed, and Sabretooth's snarl could be heard from the back. Morph let a smile of relief creep across his face as he turned complete attention to the outside.

Rogue's voice was heard next. "_So why don't y'all jus' play real nice and give yourselves up, sis_?" It wasn't a question so much as a taunt.

"Not likely," Velocity spat, and she moved back to the rear of the helicopter. She forcefully slid open the side door to reveal the gunship's huge mounted machine gun.

* * *

"Holy hell!" Rogue exclaimed as Velocity started shooting. "They ain't kiddin' around!"

Jean clenched her teeth, concentrating on flying the ship. "I don't know how much damage we can sustain. This is a prison ship, not a warship."

"Then mebbe us gals should let 'em know that we mean business, too, huh Storm?" Rogue turned to the weather witch.

"I am right behind you, Rogue," Storm nodded. Rogue opened the top hatch, and the two flew outside.

* * *

Pyro was wide awake now, and he painfully pushed himself up to see what was going on. Velocity was shooting at a big green spaceship, and he wondered momentarily if he really _was_ awake. He noticed two figures fly out of the top of the ship before he stumbled to the front of the copter, where Toad was cursing at anything and everything.

"What's going on?" he asked, supporting himself with the backs of both seats as the copter lurched in the wind that had suddenly picked up.

"Bloody X-Men tracked us down," Toad snarled, then had a thought, and turned to look at him. "You should have a seat. This is gonna get rough, and you can't even stand by yourself."

"I'm fine, but I thought I just saw..._Rogue_!" he pointed out the front, and Toad whirled around in time to see the Mississippi-born mutant's fist connect with the windshield. Pyro ducked, wincing at the pain of that action, and both Toad and Morph protectively held their arms in front of their faces, throwing themselves back into their seats. Luckily, it was newly installed plexiglass, and it did not shatter. There _did_ appear a chaotic web of white fracture lines, however, and they could no longer see out of it.

"Y'all gotta learn ta keep your eyes on the airway, Sugah," Rogue flew outside Toad's window, then caught sight of Pyro. "Long time, no see, Hot Stuff," she winked mockingly at him. "How's the nose?"

Pyro snarled in fury, and she flew off.

* * *

The machine gun had begun to penetrate the hull of the Shi'ar ship, and Cyclops, Wolverine, and Gambit dove out of the way of the oncoming bullets.

"Rogue, Storm!" Wolverine yelled into his comm. "Do somethin' 'bout that machine gun, would ya?" Cyclops dropped to the floor with an agonized cry after shielding Jean from the barrage and taking a bullet in the thigh for it. "And _quick_!"

"_On it, Sugah_!" came Rogue's reply.

"Cyke, you okay?" Wolverine hurried to his fallen teammate, followed by Gambit. Jean was casting worried glances at her husband, but she could not go to his side. She was having enough trouble trying to keep the ship in the air with Storm's infuriated winds outside tossing it around.

"I'll live," Cyclops replied through clenched teeth, in obvious pain. "Just stop the Brotherhood before they make it to Times Square."

"First things first, Bub," Wolverine shook his head and turned to Gambit. "Gumbo, gimme your jacket." The Cajun complied, and Wolverine tore a long strip off the bottom of the coattail and used it as a tourniquet, tying it tightly around Cyclops's leg to minimize the blood loss.

Gambit put his trenchcoat back on, and smirked. "Gambit tinks you owe him a new jacket, _mon__ ami_."

"When this is all over, I'll even buy ya a beer," Wolverine said, and stood up. "Now let's figure out how to stop these clowns."

"Gambit knows just what to do," he nodded, pulling a handful of cards from his inside coat pocket.

* * *

Storm already had the wind raging when Wolverine radioed them, and Rogue flew straight under the copter and came up beneath the machine gun, which abruptly stopped shooting. The sisters stared at each other; the first time they'd _actually_ seen one another in about six years. Velocity went pale, looking completely spooked and disbelieving. Rogue - who _had_ seen the other during the call to President Kelly - showed her inner turmoil on her face. She knew the woman before her had to be stopped, but she longed so much to hug her sister and talk to her again.

"Nadia," Rogue spoke. "Ya can't do this, gal! Ya gotta stop!"

"_No_, we _have_ to lead our oppressed brothers and sisters," Velocity shook her head. "Humanity will never accept us! You should know that better than anyone, Rogue! Your own _father_ disowned you when he found out what you are!"

"Ah know that, but not all people are like him," Rogue argued. "What y'all are doin' is givin' humans a reason ta hate us. Killin' Creed'll jus' make him a martyr. Sis, Ah remember a time when we both jus' wanted ta be accepted."

"Childish ideals. I've grown since then."

"Into a murderer."

Velocity's mouth hung open, and the two stared into each other's sad eyes. A savage snarl erupted from within the helicopter, and Sabretooth shoved the speedy mutant to the side and pointed at Rogue.

"Sorry to interrupt the tender moment, girlies," he mocked, "but now _I_ take charge!" He leapt at her.

Rogue swung around in the air, trying to fight off his strong grip. Gambit emerged from the top hatch of the ship. Both he and Storm saw Rogue's peril and both made a quick decision to come to her aid.

"Hurricane, heed my command!" Storm cried, the black waters below beginning to swirl.

"Leave dis one to Gambit, _chère_," the Cajun charged the playing cards in his hand.

"The nukes!" Morph gasped, the only one seeing what Gambit was about to do. "Gambit, _don_-"

He was cut off as a powerful blast of water from Storm's hurricane hit the copter, knocking it sideways and breaking the remaining windows. Morph shielded himself from the shower of glass and ocean, pressing his face against the seat. Beside him, Toad cried out in frustration, sure that they were seconds away from plummeting into the Atlantic.

The rush of water through the side door had knocked Velocity and Pyro backward and both slammed their heads against the opposite side of the copter. She coughed out the salt water she'd swallowed, and then glanced over at Creed, who was huddled amongst the crates. Then the copter lurched back the other way with the sound of an explosion from outside. The water poured back out the open door, dragging both Velocity and Pyro with it. She managed to grab hold of the machine gun, but Pyro, who still had minimal balance, slid out of the copter.

"_Pyro_!" she cried as he barely grabbed hold of the gunship's skis. The copter leveled out and she pulled herself back inside. Turning and looking back at him, she realized that he couldn't do the same; with the injury to his stomach, he lacked the abdominal strength to lift his own weight. He didn't even have the strength to hold on for very long.

* * *

"What in God's name are they doing?" Toad exclaimed, fighting with the copter's controls as it was beginning to slowly spin.

"Gambit just took out the tail rotor," Morph was leaning out the window opening, looking back to where the tail was smoldering. "We're lucky he didn't blow us sky high."

"This is what you call lucky?"

Morph turned around to smirk in agreement, and then looked back out the window. "Oh, shit."

"What's wrong?"

"Don't make any quick movements."

"I just lost stability. I'm kinda running out of options, 'ere."

"If you don't fly as level as possible, you're gonna lose Pyro, and possibly Nadia, too."

"_What_?" but Morph was already scrambling to the back.

* * *

Velocity dropped to her stomach and reached down to grab Pyro's hand. He looked up at her, his eyes full of agony. Hers were intense; the adrenaline was pumping through her veins. She had no leverage this way, though, and all she could really do was prevent him from falling.

There was a shuffling beside her, and she looked over to see Morph as he reached down and grabbed Pyro's other hand.

"Pull," he said, but before they could, Rogue was finally able to whip Sabretooth off of her, and he crashed into the copter. Hanging by the skis as well, he saw the opportunity, and used Pyro as a foothold to pull himself up.

"Bastard!" Velocity spat at him, unable to do anything about it.

"Shut the hell up, bitch," Sabretooth replied coolly.

"Nadia, just pull!" Morph ordered, and the two exerted every bit of strength, and pulled Pyro back inside. They helped him sit down, and when Velocity moved her hand, which had been against Pyro's stomach, it was covered in blood. The wounds had re-opened, and she looked up at Morph with deep worry in her eyes.

"Morph!" Rogue flew to the door. "Let's get outta here!"

* * *

Jubilee was listening intently through the communicator, hearing, and reacting to, everything that was said, from her fear when Cyclops was shot, to her tension with Rogue urging Morph to hurry, to the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when she registered what Wolverine's oddly hushed voice was saying.

"_Jesus_," he breathed. "_They're gonna crash_."

This was it. This was what Cyclops had been talking about when he had said, "If something goes wrong..."

Jubilee raced to the War Room as fast as she could, and ordered the computer to contact President Kelly. A moment later, his image appeared on the multiple screens.

"_Jubilee_?" he looked concerned. "_What's wrong_? _What is the status on the mission_?"

"Trouble, I think, sir," she admitted. "They're close to Manhattan, but the helicopter is damaged. Wolverine thinks they're going to crash!"

"_All right, now settle down for a minute_," Kelly replied. "_They'll probably try to land in an open area, most likely close to where they were going in the first place. Do you know where that is_?"

Jubilee took a deep breath and ordered her thoughts. "Times Square," she nodded, remembering what Psylocke had seen in Toad's mind.

"_Good work_," he smiled. "_I'll give the order, and Broadway will be blocked off from 45th to 46th. Thank you, Jubilee_."

* * *

"We have their position."

The FOH Head Council smiled collectively. "Where?"

"They're going to Times Square."

One of the hooded men turned to Henry Gyrich, who was still in the room. "You know what to do." Gyrich smirked evilly and nodded.


	9. Betrayal

It's All Relative

Chapter Eight

Morph looked back and forth between Rogue and Velocity, his expression screaming indecision. All it took was a jump into Rogue's arms, and he would be rescued and finally safe. Why, then, was he having this overwhelming urge to stay?

"Morph, let's go!" Rogue called again.

"I can't!" he shook his head, and then scrambled back into the front.

"_What_?" her jaw dropped in shock.

Morph reclaimed his seat beside Toad. "What's our status?"

"Well, I can barely keep us in the air, we're gonna be in the middle of one hell of a mushroom cloud if this bird crashes," Toad sounded very stressed. "I think you could safely say that we're up Shit Creek without a paddle."

"I know how to save us."

"Roger that - we have a paddle after all," Toad almost laughed in relief. "What have you got?"

"Rogue and Storm get the others outta here. You and I land this thing."

"And we do this, how?"

"We were going to Times Square, right? That's a pretty open area. You fly. I become Reed Richards, and parachute us down."

"No way," Velocity had been listening, and moved into view. "I'm not putting you two at risk."

"It's the only way," Morph insisted. "Or we _all_ die."

"He's right, Nad," Toad agreed.

Velocity watched New York City growing closer and closer, then looked back at the crates, then to Pyro, then back at Morph. "Reed Richards, huh?"

"The idea just kinda came to me back at the base," he grinned.

"You're crazy."

"Certifiable."

She took a deep breath. "All right."

"Set the plan in action, girl," Morph tilted his head back, revealing the inhibitory collar. Velocity didn't hesitate to punch in the code for its deactivation, and it dropped to the floor. "Let's get this show on the road!" he grinned again, and jumped back to the side door. "Rogue!" he shouted over the wind. "You and Storm get these guys outta here!"

"You got a plan, Sugah?"

"Aw, nothin' big, just gotta save the city," he replied. "But first you've gotta get Velocity, Pyro, Sabretooth and Creed off this thing!"

"You got it!" she nodded, and then spoke into her comm. "Storm, cool the twister, gal. The kid's got somethin' up his sleeve."

Rogue and Storm flew to the door, where the others were waiting. Storm carefully took Velocity and Pyro out of harm's way, but Rogue had a bit more trouble with Sabretooth.

"I don't need any of your help!" he growled savagely, swiping at her.

"Whoa, pipe down, Kittycat, less'n y'all want ma fist ta introduce itself to your face!"

"Sabretooth, just go, ya jackass!" Toad hollered from the front. The big mutant roared in his direction, and then reluctantly allowed Rogue to fly him and his son out of the chopper.

* * *

Jean watched as Rogue and Storm carried the four figures from the helicopter. She knew Morph's plan, and hoped it would work. And all she could do was watch and pray, as she dropped her speed to fall behind the gunship.

Cyclops sat near her chair, leaning against the metal siding of the control panel, his head tilted back. He didn't notice the occasional stolen glances at him from Jean; his eyes were squeezed tightly shut behind his ruby quartz visor. His face had gone pale, and he was breathing deeply, trying not to concentrate on the screams of pain from his leg.

Gambit, meanwhile, was standing by himself at one of the ship's windows. He had a sick feeling in his stomach. He hadn't meant to hit the helicopter. He'd just wanted to help Rogue shake Sabretooth. Now, as his deep red eyes stared out at the copter as it spun, nearly out of control, he knew that it was his fault.

Wolverine was furious. He was furious with Sabretooth for taking a potshot at Rogue and causing Gambit to accidentally hit the copter. He was furious with Gambit because now Morph was in serious danger, and he couldn't help him. He was furious with Morph for acting so noble and risking his own life. He was furious with Cyclops for getting hurt when they needed everyone - especially their team leader - to bring down the Brotherhood. He was furious with Velocity for hurting him. Most of all, he was furious with himself because he was so helpless in a critical situation.

All four were fighting the urge to say their last good-byes, should Morph's plan fail.

* * *

Pyro weakly looked up at the helicopter from Storm's arms. He realized, after staring at the smoldering tail rotor for a moment, that if the fire reached the fuel tanks before Morph and Toad could land the thing, they were all in big trouble. Or worse yet, if it reached the nukes...

The Aussie closed his eyes and clenched his fists, willing the flames to be smothered out. And they began to flicker, and then died.

Morph, who was leaning out the side door, grinned. "Remind me to thank your pal!" he called up to Toad. "He just took care of a _lot_ of heat that woulda been on my ass!"

Toad was nervous, but managed a smile. "Listen, mate, if this doesn't work..."

"You're not gonna get all sentimental on me, are ya, Toynbee?" Morph smirked playfully.

"Hell no, I was gonna say if this doesn't work, it's your fault," Toad smirked back, and the shapeshifter chuckled. "Good luck."

"You too," Morph nodded, a feeling of mutual respect passing between them. Then Morph's appearance shifted to that of Mr. Fantastic, and, after tightly gripping the doorframe, he moved outside the copter.

* * *

Mystique and Blob knew something was wrong as they approached Times Square. There were police cars everywhere, sectioning off a full block of Broadway. Angry people were yelling, cursing, and honking their horns and the place was _crawling_ with the press.

"What happened?" Mystique gaped in disbelief.

"Somethin' else went wrong, I bet that's what happened," Blob frowned. "Bad things come in threes, right? First Nadia got hurt, and then Lance goes missing, and now the others are in trouble."

"We don't know that," Mystique was trying to convince herself more than Blob.

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know," she admitted, shifting her look to that of a young police officer, "but I'm going to find out." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Stay here." He nodded, and she walked toward the blockade. "So, can anyone tell me what we're even doing, exactly?" she asked another officer, trying her best to sound innocent.

"President Kelly sent the order straight from DC to clear this area," the cop replied, then leaned over and spoke in a hushed voice. "Word has it that it's some big CIA counterattack on a terrorist group or something. Nothing like I've ever heard of before, that's for sure."

"Wouldn't the CIA send out a Black Ops group before risking the public finding out?"

"Way I heard it, they did already, but the plan got botched. I dunno what we're supposed to expect."

Mystique looked up into the night sky, noticing the sounds of a chopper for the first time. And they seemed to be getting closer.

* * *

"I swear, McCoy, if you don't fucking let me out of here to help my friends, I'm gonna rip your God-damn blue face off!" Avalanche was not happy.

"I do not much dislike the matter, but the manner of his speech," Beast replied simply as he prepared a bed, more to himself than to Avalanche. "William Shakespeare's _Antony__ and Cleopatra_."

"Real cute, freak, now let me go."

"Mr. Alvers, while I understand your need to protect your fellow teammates from eminent danger, from a doctor's perspective I do not think it wise to partake in physical exertion after a mere day's recovery."

"It's been almost _two_ days," Avalanche retorted. "And I'm _fine_."

Jubilee was pacing behind them. She'd run in here to tell Beast what was going on with the others, but she hadn't counted on Avalanche being awake. Now he was extremely angry at being trapped here when his friends were in trouble, and the angrier he got, the more noticeable the quakes became. He wasn't able to release his full power with one hand bound across his chest and the other carefully restrained, but the steady tremor was reminder enough of what he was capable.

As Avalanche continued to argue his point, Jubilee was anxiously listening to the happenings in Manhattan. Cyclops had fallen silent now, but the others were still talking enough for her to form a mental picture of the scene. And she couldn't take it anymore.

"Hank?" she blurted out. "I'm going to Times Square. I can't do anymore good sitting around here."

Beast sighed, the restlessness of these young people beginning to get to him. "I know that I cannot stop you when you are determined, Jubilation. I can only ask that you be careful."

"I will, Hank," she nodded, and dashed to the door.

"Wait!" Avalanche called, and the tremors ceased. "Let me come with you." The other two gave him an odd look. "Look, the Friends of Humanity have spies everywhere, and chances are they already know exactly what's going down. If they catch you alone, you'll be in big trouble."

"I can handle those dweebs," Jubilee shot back.

"Sure, kid, just like you handled them back when Morph sent you to their headquarters, right?" he replied.

"You know about that?"

"Kid, everybody knows about that." Jubilee's face fell. "Look, I can protect you till we get there. I'm being honest, here, and you should take advantage of that." The girl sighed, then turned to Beast and nodded. Beast, somewhat reluctantly, punched the code on the cuff that restrained Avalanche's unbound hand, and it slid open. "Let's rock and roll," he grinned, and stood up.

* * *

Mystique watched the descending helicopter in amazement. She recognized Toad's piloting skills over the damaged machine, and also thought that the parachute attached to it looked strangely familiar...

"Reed Richards?" she wrinkled her nose, wondering absently when the Fantastic Four had involved themselves.

People were beginning to panic, and a thick, soupy fog was rolling in, obstructing the view of the chopper. Mystique knew it was Storm's handiwork, and that meant the X-Men had control of the situation. _They_ were the Black Ops group. Something else _had_ gone wrong.

There was an ear-splitting screeching - metal on pavement - followed by a crash. She realized the copter had landed. "Blob!" she screamed his name over the crowd as the fog began to glow an alien shade of green.

"Comin' through!" the enormous mutant crashed his way through the people and cop cars that obstructed him. Mystique reverted back to her true form, and the two ran to where the glow was coming from. The fog was much thinner here, and they were shocked at the scene before them.

* * *

Morph, back to his normal self, leaned through the window frame of the helicopter, the front of which was now mangled and wrapped around a streetlight. Toad was awkwardly stuck inside the wreck, and Morph helped him unbuckle his seat belt so he could slide out the window.

Rogue and Storm landed just after the Shi'ar craft set down, and immediately Velocity was on top of Sabretooth, fists flying at a fantastic speed, calling him every name in the book. Toad and Morph looked up at the sound of the commotion, and then movement caught their attention: Mystique and Blob entering the scene through the fog. They sprinted to the fight and pulled the two apart.

"What is going on here?" Mystique shrieked at the two of them, gripping Sabretooth's arm.

"I'll let you field this one, traitor," Velocity's eyes burned as she spoke to the big mutant while being held in the air by Blob's strong arm. Sabretooth snarled in reply, itching for another shot at her now that he was ready. Any respect he'd had for her and her methods had gone now, replaced by the desire to tear her head clean off.

Gambit and Jean scrambled out of the spacecraft, followed by Wolverine, who supported Cyclops on his shoulders. Nobody had pictured this scenario; how were they supposed to handle the Brotherhood members being at each other's throats without inciting even more rage?

* * *

"Dammit!" Avalanche slammed his fist on the dash of Wolverine's jeep, which Jubilee had 'borrowed'. Traffic was backed up for blocks, and the honking horns were driving Avalanche up the wall.

"Wait, check it out," Jubilee tapped him on the shoulder and pointed around them at the fog extending from Times Square. "Storm's cover. They're safe from any FOH goon's sight."

"For now," Avalanche added, and then hopped out of the jeep. "Let's move. We're takin' the rest of the way on foot."

"Check," Jubilee agreed and, after remembering to take the keys from the jeep, followed him through the lineup of cars.

* * *

"Nadia, does this really-"

"Back _off_, Grey! This does _not_ concern you!"

"Ooh, you better watch how you talk to the lady."

Velocity didn't even flinch at Wolverine's remark, locked in a stalemate stare-down with Sabretooth. Mystique threw her hands in the air, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"One of you had better tell me what is going on!" she demanded. "Why are you two ready to kill each other? And _what_ the hell happened to Pyro?" She stopped, now staring at Pyro, and put two-and-two together. "You didn't," she looked back up at Sabretooth.

"I warned him."

Mystique clasped her hands over her face, digging her fingernails into her skin. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," she rambled over and over. "Okay, listen, we will _resolve_ this, alright? Just, please, calm down. It's _over_."

Before any X-Man or Brotherhood member could argue, the ground shook violently and the street began to explode. Everyone turned attention to the source, following the trail of destroyed pavement where it stopped in front of two figures.

"Lance," Mystique held her breath.

"Jubilee," Wolverine uttered.

Avalanche eyed each and every figure as he stalked toward to group, finally landing his gaze on Pyro. His mouth twisted into a furious sneer, and his hand repeatedly clenched and unclenched. Nobody made a sound; nobody even moved. Not a single one of them wanted to give Avalanche an excuse to snap on them. And snap he would; the guy was visibly _stressed_.

Avalanche reached the cluster of mutants, standing over Pyro, studying the gashes that decorated his best friend's upper torso. "Who did this?" his mouth barely moved, and his eyes darted from person to person, seeking an answer. "_Who did this_?" he demanded, much louder, and everyone flinched. Everyone, that is, but Sabretooth, which consequently caught the rock tumbler's attention. "It was _you_, wasn't it?"

"What if it was?" Sabretooth was smirking. Avalanche took a step toward him. "Oh, you wanna rumble, tough guy?"

"Rumble's my middle name," Avalanche retorted.

Jubilee had carefully tiptoed around the tense confrontation to where Wolverine stood. He put a comforting arm around her shoulders, but she could tell that even he was edgy.

Sabretooth laughed viciously. "How do you expect to beat me with one arm?"

Velocity stepped beside Avalanche, soon joined by Toad and Blob. "Because it won't _be_ just him," she replied. Sabretooth narrowed his eyes at the four of them, and then felt Mystique at his side. "_Mother_," Velocity hissed, realizing her betrayal.

"I'm sorry, Nadia," Mystique sneered. "But I'm in this for _my_ survival, and the survival of mutantkind. The four of you have let love and friendship blind you to the true cause, which I intend to continue to fight for. Even if it means stepping on you along the way."

"You-"

Avalanche was cut off by an explosion four feet away, which sent everyone flying off-balance. They looked up to see a group of armed men, several with grenades, and all wearing white T-shirts with three clear letters: FOH. And they were led by a smug-looking man.

"Henry Gyrich," Jean gasped.

"Get rid of the mutants!" Gyrich hollered, and the men charged them, firing guns and throwing grenades.

"Look out, _chère_!" Gambit intercepted a grenade headed straight for Rogue with a kinetically charged card.

"Thanks, Remy," she smiled at him, and then flew toward the attackers.

The four younger Brotherhood members stood around Pyro, ready to protect him with their lives. They fought off the FOH as the sky was filled with an assortment of helicopters, both news and police, using their searchlights in an attempt to see through the fog. Velocity stumbled away from the group and was grabbed from behind by one of the FOH. That's when she lost control, and used her speed to fling the man over her shoulder, then raced after the rest of the attackers, letting her frustrations loose on them.

"Rogue!" Cyclops called, as police sirens went off around them. "There's been enough destruction for one day! Stop Velocity and let the police handle the Friends of Humanity!"

"On it!" She took off. "Nadia!" she hollered down to where Velocity had just laid out a man with a lightning-quick punch combo that had probably broken his jaw. "Y'all better just simmer down, gal! Cops are on the move! Leave them the dirty work!"

"You mean retreat?" Velocity looked up at her sister. "From them? Not an option!" She sped off.

"Then y'all ain't givin' me much of a choice," Rogue frowned, removed her glove, and chased her.

* * *

Henry Gyrich was lying on the street, having been knocked down by an earthquake caused by one of _them_. He noticed the mutant known as Rogue approaching another: the female speed demon. Reaching into his pocket and producing one of Trask's gizmos, he decided to rid the world of two pieces of mutant garbage for the price of one. He took aim with the device and muttered, "No more mutants."

Gyrich shot the two women just as Rogue made skin contact with Velocity. Both women screamed as two sets of unnatural forces surged through their bodies.

Toad found the source, and narrowed his eyes. "Let them go!" he commanded, then shot out his sticky tongue and snatched the device out of Gyrich's hand. Rogue and Velocity dropped to the ground, no longer under siege from the enigmatic force beam.

Wolverine and Gambit were immediately at Rogue's side and likewise with Avalanche and Toad for Velocity. The Friends of Humanity had stopped their attack, startled by what had just happened.

"You okay, _chère_?" Gambit asked.

"Ah have no idea, Remy," Rogue shook her head. "What the heck was that thing?"

"Same thing that whacked your prof, I'll wager," Toad tossed the device over, which Wolverine caught.

The sirens were very close. The gunshots had made the police very nervous about the mysterious situation taking place within a wall of fog. They were probably surrounding the area with the SWAT team at that very moment.

"Hey, Lance, maybe we ought to bail while we still can?" Toad suggested.

"Good plan," he nodded.

Blob lumbered over, carrying an extremely distraught and numb-with-pain Pyro. "Is she okay?"

"She's unconscious," Avalanche replied. "Normal side effect from gettin' drained. She'll be okay."

"Where's Mystique and Sabretooth?" Blob wondered, surveying the area.

Avalanche looked around, surprised, and then his usual angry expression returned. "Who gives a damn? We don't need 'em."

He motioned for Blob to pick up Velocity as well, and the big man complied. Then, as the X-Men were pre-occupied with regrouping and tending to their own squad, the young bloods of the Brotherhood disappeared into the fog.__


	10. What Lies Beneath

"If you have tears, prepare to shed them now."

William Shakespeare, _Julius Caesar_

It's All Relative

Chapter Nine

The X-Men spent the next couple of days recuperating. The diagnosis on Cyclops was that the bullet had ruptured his quadriceps muscle. He would need surgery to repair the damage, followed by extensive rehab training to build it back up to strength.

Jean and Storm had sealed the crates of nuclear warheads inside the Shi'ar prison ship's containment cell, and then had taken the spacecraft to a pre-designated area where Lilandra had sent her soldiers to retrieve the vessel and its contents. When they returned home, Jean slept for twenty-seven hours straight.

Wolverine made good on his promise and took both Gambit and Morph out for a beer. He seemed to be more at peace with himself now that they'd heard from the Professor, and now that Morph was safe.

Gambit was quietly consumed in his thoughts. He still wondered whether there could have been an alternate resolution to what had happened, had he not missed his shot and hit the helicopter. Even with the assurances that everything had turned out alright, considering what could have happened, he still felt responsible for the unnecessary destruction.

Outwardly, Morph was his usual, good-natured self - especially with all the attention he was getting upon returning safe and sound - but inside he was troubled. He'd seen a new side to Velocity and Toad over the week he'd spent with them. He recognized that, even though they had a somewhat obscure view on how worldly issues should be dealt with, their bond of friendship and team loyalty was not unlike that of his team. Why did there have to be sides?

Beast was thrilled when the team brought back a fully functional prototype of Trask's device. Every moment not used on repairs to the Blackbird was spent analyzing every aspect of the mysterious gadget.

Jubilee had been commended by the others for her mature and rational handle of her emotions in a critical situation. If she hadn't warned Kelly, and therefore caused the roadblock, thousands of innocent people could have gotten hurt. Cyclops promised her more field time now that she'd proven her responsibility.

Psylocke had received a round of heartfelt thanks from all of them, and an open invitation to visit whenever she desired. Then she gratefully returned to Worthington Manor, where she and Warren made up for lost time together.

Several members of the Friends of Humanity, including Henry Gyrich, had been arrested, unfortunately not for their hate crimes against mutants. They were charged with such things as crossing the police line, willfully destroying public property, and misuse of a deadly weapon.

Grayden Creed Jr. was admitted into the psychiatric ward, where he would receive special care and treatments for his mental condition, which seemed to be beyond even professional help.

Rogue, meanwhile, was confused regarding what had happened when she'd made skin contact with Velocity. The effect of Gyrich's device had given her dizzy spells throughout the last two days, but she had strangely not received any of her sister's thoughts, feelings, or powers. Beast's hypothesis was that some aspect of the pulse wave emitted by the device had cancelled out Rogue's mutant power. What he couldn't explain, if this were the case, was why Velocity had lost consciousness.

* * *

"She's getting worse, Lance," Toad reported, dabbing a wet cloth on Velocity's forehead. She hadn't fully regained consciousness once in the past two days, and lay tossing and turning in a state of delirious confusion, unable to recognize any of them.

The five were back in Toad's apartment, adjusting to the cramped conditions. Velocity lay on the worn sofa, and Pyro, who was steadily getting weaker, occupied Toad's bed. The wounds on his stomach refused to heal; every cough, sneeze, or turn in his fevered sleep reopened them. Even breathing was painful.

Between Avalanche, Toad and Blob, the night was divided into times for one to stay up with Pyro and Velocity, while the other two crashed on the floor.

Avalanche was pacing around the room, trying to come up with some idea to save his friends. And, so far, he wasn't being extraordinarily enlightened. Pyro was in desperate need of medical attention, but he was afraid that if they took him to a hospital, they would find out who and what he was and refuse to help him. Velocity, meanwhile, was sick with something they'd never encountered before. She'd been fine before Rogue touched her, but something else - besides being drained - was causing her illness. They'd all been touched by Rogue back in the day, and this had never happened.

Avalanche looked up at the sound of coughing from the bedroom. Blob walked out, his eyes downcast, a bloody rag in his hand.

"How is he?" Avalanche asked.

"Not so great, Lance," Blob frowned, rinsing out the cloth. "He's bleedin' again."

Avalanche closed his eyes and stressfully ran his hand over his forehead and through his sweaty brown hair. He tried to sort his thoughts and think clearly, but this was just too much.

"Lance?"

He looked up at the sound of his name. Toad was holding down Velocity, whose convulsions had become more violent, and was staring up at him with questioning eyes. "Yeah, what?"

"What the hell are we gonna do?"

* * *

Jean walked through the hallways, feeling fully rested for the first time in almost a month. She paused at the doorway to the den, where Gambit, Rogue, Morph, and Jubilee were quietly watching TV. Things were slowly getting back to normal.

As she passed the War Room, she received a strange sensation, and doubled back to enter. A quick scan of the room revealed the reason for the feeling, and she stared at the security camera feedback in disbelief.

"Beast?" she spoke into the room's communications console, projecting her voice throughout the mansion. "Prep the Infirmary for at least two more patients."

Jean hurried back out of the room, headed for the main foyer. The four from the den joined her.

"What's goin' on, Sugah?" Rogue asked.

"You'll never believe this," Jean shook her head, pulled open the front door and ran down to the gate.

Avalanche and Toad stood outside, supporting Velocity between them, desperately trying to restrain her. The girl's teeth chattered and her eyes were wild, and Jean winced as she sensed the state of disarray her mind was in. Blob stood next to them, carefully cradling a ghostly white and blood-stained Pyro in his massive arms.

Avalanche's dark eyes were pleading as he looked directly into Jean's.

"We need your help."

* * *

Beast pulled some strings with his friend Alec at the hospital, and soon obtained the needed medical supplies, namely blood for Pyro. After properly sewing up the Aussie's stomach gashes, he tried to convince Avalanche to let him attend to him.

"I don't need no help," Avalanche snapped. "Johnny and Nadia are worse than me."

"I've done all that I can for Mr. Allerdyce," Beast replied, gesturing to where Pyro lay. He was hooked up to the heart monitor and the blood via IV. "I wish to be certain that your shoulder is not becoming infected."

"It's not," Avalanche jerked his injured shoulder away from Beast. "So why don't you just help Nadia?"

Beast sighed. "I am going to be perfectly honest with you, Mr. Alvers. I am unable to treat Miss Molotova because I have absolutely no idea what is wrong with her. I will continue to perform tests, but I can not promise that I will be able to help her."

* * *

Beast turned Trask's device over and over in his furry hands. Something about it held the missing piece to the puzzle of what was going on, and he knew that he _had_ to figure out what it was. He decided to go back over what he already knew. When Gyrich had shot Professor Xavier, the beam had interfered with and scrambled his brain waves. It had closed down the Professor's otherwise open and outstretched mind, almost as if it had reversed his mutant power.

Beast sat back and chewed the end of a pencil. If the electrical signal had momentarily altered the state of the X-gene in Xavier, then it would have done the same to Rogue upon contact. And since Rogue had touched Velocity at that exact moment...

"Oh dear," Beast's eyes widened in realization, and he quickly called Jean down to the infirmary over the mansion intercom.

When Jean entered the room, however, she was not alone. Rogue and Morph were right behind her, followed by Avalanche, Toad and Blob. And the boys of the Brotherhood were not sporting friendly expressions.

"What is it, Hank?" Jean asked. "You sounded like it was urgent."

"It is, indeed," Beast bit his lower lip. "I believe I have found the cause of Miss Molotova's illness."

"Really?" the Brotherhood trio asked in unison.

"Yes," Beast nodded. "It is my careful presumption that the effect of Rogue's power in collaboration with the beam from Mr. Gyrich's device has affected Velocity's brain wave patterns."

"Ah don't understand," Rogue frowned.

"Let me explain," Beast said patiently. "Your powers operate in a rather introvert manor in order to withdraw the thoughts and feelings of those you make physical contact with, correct?" She nodded. "Well, just as the device caused a reversal of the Professor's power to shut down his mind, I believe that it was similarly caused a reversal of your powers. Instead of Velocity's thoughts entering your mind, your thoughts were projected into hers."

"An' that's why Ah never had any of her powers," Rogue got it. "But then, why's she off her rocker? Ah mean, Ah mebbe a li'l mixed up, but Ah ain't crazy. What's makin' her..." her jaw dropped. "_No_," she rushed to Velocity's side.

The girl was restrained to her bed since her fits had become increasingly more violent. Her breathing was irregular and her face glistened with a layer of sweat. She was mumbling something, and Rogue leaned closer to hear her.

"Get out of my head...please...just leave me alone..."

"_Jean_!" Rogue exclaimed. "Ah need your help. It's her. It's Ms. Marvel. She's in Nadia's head!"

"Ms. Marvel?" Avalanche repeated.

"Ah had her trapped in ma mind, but Ah guess she musta been transferred ta Nadia with ma thoughts by accident," she sadly replied.

"You mean on purpose."

She looked up at Avalanche, who was staring at her accusingly. "What?"

"Pretty convenient how this all played out, huh? You spontaneously decided that Nadia's in some serious need of a drain _just_ as Gyrich blasts you. Then _you_ don't get any freaky side effects, _and_ you manage to dump off your deranged alter ego. Meanwhile, Nadia's dancing over the border of insanity, and you get to play the innocent victim. Pretty sweet deal, isn't it, Rogue?"

"If'n y'all got somethin' ta say ta me, Rock Tumbler, then mebbe y'all should jus' say it," Rogue got to her feet.

"I'm _saying_ that what happened to her is _your_ fault."

"Ma fault? Ah was jus' trying ta keep the body count to a minimum after she snapped! Y'all could at _least_ blame Henry Gyrich, he's the one who zapped us, not me! Or better yet, _Lance_, mebbe y'all should blame yourself, 'cause mebbe Gyrich wouldn't have seen us if'n y'all hadn't knocked him over with a quake!"

"Shut up!" Avalanche exploded.

"Come ta think of it," she continued, seeing that she'd struck a nerve, "if'n y'all hadn't gotten caught in the first place, we might never have figured out how ta stop yah!"

"I said _shut up_!"

"Looks ta me like this is all _your_ f-"

He swung his gloved fist and cut her off as it connected squarely with her cheekbone. She recoiled momentarily, mostly shocked that he'd actually _done_ anything, and then set to go after him. Morph and Toad had other plans, however, and pushed themselves between the two, holding them apart.

Toad pushed Avalanche backward as hard as he could. "I know this is hard for you, but _think_, Lance!" he yelled as Avalanche hit the floor. "What is this going to accomplish? Did you put 'be stupid' first on your list of things to do today? Do you honestly want to get your ass pounded so me 'n Freddy have to drag your carcass home, too?" Avalanche shook his head. "Good, 'cause you wouldn't get it, anyway. I'd make you walk." He smiled and crouched, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder and lowering his voice. "Look, mate. These guys are probably Nadia's only hope, right? So why don't we give 'em a chance to help her out before we shake things up? It's only good strategy."

Avalanche smirked. He knew that he was just kidding about the last part, but it calmed him down anyway. Toad extended his hand and pulled Avalanche to his feet, and he and Rogue avoided each other's glance.

"Can you fix her?" Blob asked Jean.

"I don't know," Jean admitted. "When Rogue and I faced Ms. Marvel, we were able to contain her. But Velocity has been unconscious for the past two days, and her mind is unstable. In her weakened condition, I am not sure if she can fight her."

"But you're gonna try, right?" Toad was genuinely worried.

"Of course I will," Jean nodded, and turned to Rogue. "I have an idea. It may not work, but at least it's a shot. Be ready." Rogue nodded, and Jean put one hand on Velocity's forehead and the other on her own, and then closed her eyes.

* * *

Jean looked around in horror at what she beheld. The deepest recesses of Velocity's mind were in utter chaos. It certainly hadn't been like this when Jean had been here just before Morph was captured, searching for the girl's true motive for visiting the Institute.

Now, everything was broken. Fragments of the symbolic platforms, which had marked the path through Velocity's thoughts, feelings, and memories, floated aimlessly through empty space. Images of the other Brotherhood members adorned the faces of those shards of memory, still present but grossly distorted. Mystique's image was twisted almost beyond recognition, and Sabretooth's looked as though it had been mutilated.

Jean walked through the maze of consciousness, searching for the embodiments of both Ms. Marvel and Velocity's psyche. She sensed they were close by, but the terrain was badly warped; it was difficult to know where she was going.

* * *

_Surrender! I cannot gain control of your body until you are destroyed!_

Velocity looked up at Ms. Marvel from where she'd been knocked down, carefully hiding how much it hurt to do even that. She could not afford to reveal her weaknesses. _Then what makes you think I will let you win?_ she sneered.

_Because, you pathetic excuse for an opponent, you cannot regain control unless I have been subdued_, Ms. Marvel retorted. _And we both know that you could never defeat me._

_Pride is among the seven deadly sins, you know_, Velocity smirked, pushing herself to her feet.

_You are the last person who should preach to me about sin, Molotova,_ the other narrowed her eyes. _I may have been out of action for quite some time, but I have not forgotten you._

_I'm flattered._ Velocity ran at her intruder, but was not prepared for the counterattack. Ms. Marvel grew to triple her size, caught Velocity by the arm, lifted her over her head, and smashed her down through four platforms, leaving her lying on the fifth one down.

_How is that possible?_ Velocity fought to get back to her feet.

_The psychiatric netherworld has been my prison, and therefore my only plane of existence for years_, Ms. Marvel returned to her normal height. _I have learned its many tricks, and how to manipulate them at my will_.

_I won't...give...up._

Ms. Marvel openly smirked, knowing that her foe was weak. _We'll just see about that_, she replied, approaching her fallen form. She grabbed the speed demon's hair and jerked her head up, forcing her to look at the clips of memories that periodically flashed like electricity across the 'walls' of her mind. _What do you have to live for, hmm? Your boyfriend?_ Pyro's image appeared, in Sabretooth's clutches. _He could, or more probably will die. What about your dear sister?_ The picture changed to Rogue's as she called to her from the air in Times Square, just before she'd touched her. _Is she not the very reason that I am here in the first place? What do you owe her?_

_Stop..._

_How about Mystique?_ She saw the smug look on the shapeshifter's face as she stood at Sabretooth's side. _Your wonderful mother who deserted you and your friends when you were in trouble only to run off with Sabretooth._

_Stop it_.

_You heard her, Carol. Stop it_.

Ms. Marvel snapped her head around at the sound of the voice. Jean Grey stood on one of the twisted pathways, her hands on her hips. _You_

_You're not the only one who knows how to manipulate reality in this place_, Jean smugly replied, and telekinetically threw a barrage of debris at the woman as she charged. She rushed to Velocity's side. _Nadia, I have a plan to get Ms. Marvel out of your head. She doesn't know that your body is inside the Institute, so we have that to our advantage. You have to lose this fight_.

_What?_ Velocity exclaimed. _She'll control my body!_

_Just trust me!_

Velocity didn't have time to respond before Ms. Marvel was upon them. She lifted Jean into the air and knocked her into one of the many memory clips. Jean screamed as the electric impulses wracked her body, then her form faded and disappeared.

Velocity's mouth twisted into an uncertain frown. _Lose this fight, huh?_

* * *

There was a crackling of electricity and Jean was thrown backward out of her chair and to the floor of the Institute.

"Jean!" Rogue, Beast and Morph exclaimed.

"Rogue, stay ready!" Jean ordered, getting to her feet. She quickly moved back over to Velocity and crossed her fingers. "Nadia, please listen to me."

Velocity threw her head back as far as the bed would allow and emitted an eerie howling shriek. Her body bent into the air, and her tightly restrained hands clenched. Her eyes opened and she broke the cuffs on her wrists and sat up.

"Ms. Marvel lives again!" she cried in a voice that was not her own, and then took in her surroundings. She regarded the shocked faces of the Brotherhood members, and then settled her gaze on an all too familiar face. "Rogue! _No_!"

"Now, Rogue!" Jean commanded.

"Sorry, Sugah," the Southern gal said and clasped her bare hands over the other girl's face. "It's how it's got ta be." Velocity's body shook as Ms. Marvel's voice screamed in defeat, and then dropped back onto the bed.

Jean and Rogue immediately went to work re-sealing Ms. Marvel inside Rogue's mind. Beast checked Velocity's pulse as Toad, Avalanche and Blob hovered next to the bed.

Pyro turned his head away from the scene. Nobody had noticed him watching from his nearby cot. He'd heard everything, including Beast's theory of what had happened and the ear-splitting results. And it wasn't the pain from his healing stomach wounds that was making him feel so sick.

* * *

Three more days passed and Velocity had yet to regain consciousness. Although her fits of convulsions had stopped, Jean knew that there was still something wrong with her.

"Can't you just, y'know, go in there and figure out what the problem is?" Toad asked.

"I've tried," Jean shrugged. "But her mind is scrambled and it's putting out some kind of interference. I can't get through."

"So there's nothin' you can do?" Blob's face fell.

"Not by myself, anyway," she shook her head. "But I know somebody who may be able to help."

Thus, Jean deliberated with Cyclops and finally managed to convince her crutch-ridden husband that Velocity desperately needed to be taken to Moira MacTaggart. He agreed, due mainly to the reasoning that the Brotherhood would be out of the mansion. Avalanche had become somewhat of a problem; he'd taken to starting random fights to vent his frustrations.

Beast and Forge had now completed enough repairs on the Blackbird for it to be operational. There were still many components that needed work, but they could wait. Cyclops insisted that he be part of the away team, and so he, Jean, Rogue and Morph arranged to transport Avalanche, Blob, Toad, Velocity and Pyro - who was also now on crutches and anxious to escape the Infirmary - to the Muir Island Research Centre.

* * *

"It is just as I feared, Jean," Moira shook her head sadly after hours of treatment on Velocity. "Her mind is so badly damaged that she cannoh regain consciousness. I donnoh know the extent of the harm, but I do know that for the brief moment when Ms. Marvel's psyche became dominant, Nadia's psyche reacted to the defeat by repressing itself."

"I didn't know any other way to get her out," Jean explained.

"I doubt that there was any other way," Moira replied. "And if Nadia had truly been defeated rather than surrendering, she may ne'er have been able to have enough strength to rebuild her mind. At least this way she has a chance." Jean nodded, feeling herself getting choked up. "I have managed to clear the psychic interference through the treatments," Moira continued. "If you wish to try and contact her, it is possible that her subconscious is still coherent. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to break the news to her friends."

"Thanks, Moira," Jean smiled, though it was filled with sorrow. "Thanks for everything." The Scottish woman nodded and left the room.

Jean entered the room where Velocity lay on the white hospital bed, deep in the sleep of oblivion. She looked so peaceful on the outside, while inside was in turmoil.

* * *

_I know you're there_.

_I knew you would_.

Velocity didn't respond, and Jean approached her. The Russian girl sat with her legs dangling over the sides of the fractured pathway, staring out at the bleak mess all around her. Jean sat down beside her.

_You should have called before you came_, Velocity joked. _I would have had a chance to tidy up a little bit_.

Jean smiled. _Thank you for trusting me_.

_Did it work?_

_Yes, but not as well as I had hoped. Ms. Marvel is gone, in any case_.

_But I still lost,_ she nodded, obviously understanding the reason behind the vast destruction. _At least it's quieter around here_. Jean nodded. _How long has it been?_

_Almost a week._

_Time flies. Anything interesting happen?_

_Well, Pyro's recovering nicely. Hank did an amazing job on his stitches_. Velocity's mouth curved upward into a contented smile. _And I thought that maybe you would like to know about this: we've talked to President Kelly. Mystique and Sabretooth have disappeared, supposedly by taking one of the news helicopters from Times Square._

_Figures._

_Yeah, nobody would have noticed them escape with all the commotion._

_Be careful, she'll be out for blood after her perfect plan was ruined. Speaking of which, I saw Cyke's leg. I guess that was my fault, wasn't it?_

_Oh, he'll live._

_I'm sorry, anyway. It's funny in a way. If I had known I would be so sorry about the past month, I don't think that I would have done what I did. I had no idea there would be so much suffering as consequence to my actions._

_That's comforting to hear from you._

_Too little, too late, though, I'm sure_. Jean shrugged at that. _Jean, can you do me a favour? Can you tell the boys that I'm sorry? I think Morty and Fred will understand, but I'm worried about Lance. He always takes things so seriously and reacts so violently. And Johnny, my beloved Pyro, I am especially worried about him. I know him well, and he will be upset because he could not protect me. Please, tell him that it was not his fault, and tell them all how sorry I am_.

_Wouldn't it be more convincing coming from you?_

_Look at this place_, Velocity waved her hand at the floating debris. _What a mess. There is so much I have to fix and sort through_. She leaned back on her elbows. _I don't think I will be able to see them for a very long time. I've done a lot of very bad things, Jean. Maybe that is my punishment._

_If you need any help-_

_Thank you, Jean, but this is something I must do on my own._

_Moira's going to give you treatments of psychological therapy. It should make your job easier._

_I appreciate that._

They sat in silence for a few moments, gazing at the random sparks of nerve impulses and flickers of memory images.

_I should go_, Jean stood up.

_You will tell them, won't you?_

_Of course I will_, Jean assured her. _What about Rogue? Should I tell her anything?_

Velocity smiled as the image of her Southern sister danced across her line of sight. _She already knows._

* * *

Pyro sat on the edge of the grassy cliff of Muir Island, watching the ocean waves crash over the partly submerged rocks, soak the cliff-side with their foamy spray, and then settle back into the icy blue surf. Avalanche sat beside him, cracking his knuckles. Pyro was his best friend and he practically thought of him as a younger brother. Somebody - it didn't matter who - was going to pay for putting him through this. Whether it be Sabretooth, Rogue or Mystique, somebody was going to get rocked.

Jean exited the building and could tell by the feeling of the atmosphere outside that Moira had already told everyone. She watched as Toad and Blob silently walked to where Pyro and Avalanche were sitting, and then she went over to Cyclops.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Nadia wanted me to tell them she was sorry," she replied. "But I really don't know how to say it. They must be hurting so badly."

"I'll tell them," Cyclops offered, and hobbled over to the four before Jean could stop him. "I have a message for you guys. Velocity wanted-"

"Sod off, Summers."

"Excuse me?" he looked at Toad in surprise. Nobody answered him, and he shrugged. "Look, I'm just trying to-"

"Your hearing going, Summers?" Avalanche snapped, jumping to his feet.

"No-"

"Then get lost. We don't need you over here acting all noble and better than us and pretending like nothing happened. We can see right through your phony sympathy act, so you can take all the bull you're spewing and shove it straight up your ass."

"What's your problem, Alvers? Why can't you just accept that I'm being nice, here?"

"'Cause you're full of it, and you know it. Now, are you gonna piss off, or do I have to make sure you leave us alone?"

Cyclops scowled and Avalanche clenched his teeth. They both assumed as threatening a stance as they could manage - one on crutches with a gimpy leg and the other with his arm in a sling.

"Uh, guys?" Morph intervened. "I don't think this was what they had in mind when they introduced the handicap match on pay-per-view."

Jean gently took Cyclops's arm and led him away from the confrontation. Avalanche stomped away to be by himself. Morph exchanged a nod with Jean, and went to sit by Toad.

"Hey," he greeted him.

"What do you want?"

"Just to spread the good word, man, that's all." They were quiet for a moment. "Jean talked to Nadia. She told me that she had a message for you guys."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. She wanted you all to know that she was sorry, and that you would understand. And that Pyro shouldn't blame himself about what happened."

"You listening to this?" Toad elbowed Pyro lightly.

"I should have been able to protect her."

"She doesn't want you to think that way," Toad told him. "You're not gonna disrespect her wishes, are you?" Pyro didn't reply, and Toad turned to Morph. "Thanks, mate."

"Yeah, no problem."

Jean was relieved that the message had been delivered, and looked around for the teammate she'd just realized was missing. "Where's Rogue?"

"Dunno," Cyclops shrugged. "She took off after hearing the news from Moira. Turned her communicator off, too."

"I hope she's all right."

* * *

Rogue was deep in thought as she flew determinedly across the European terrain. She was experiencing the vivid memories she'd received from her sister. Though it had been three days since she'd touched her, these images were still so clear because they were her memories as well.

* * *

Six Years Ago

* * *

"Rogue?"

"Yah?"

"What's your real name?"

"It don't really matter - Ah hate it. Ma father named me, an' then he disowned me, so that name don't mean nothin' ta me no more."

"Fair enough."

Rogue and Velocity sat outside, lying under the huge tree in the backyard of their adopted mother's house, watching the changing colours of the sky as the sun set.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," Velocity sighed. "Mom's sending me on some mission. I would tell you where, but she's being all mysterious about it. She's not even giving me any information until tomorrow morning, just before I leave."

"Ah think she thinks she's a secret agent, or somthin'," Rogue mused, and Velocity snickered softly in agreement. "Ah'll miss ya."

Velocity rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows. "You will?"

"Well of _course_ Ah will, ya half-wit! You're ma only sister, an' the only one who really understands me. Ah think it's gonna be real lonesome here without ya."

Velocity thought for a moment. "Take off your glove."

"What?"

"Just do it!"

"Okay," Rogue sounded uncertain, but did as she was told. Velocity shot her hand out and clasped her sister's before she could change her mind. Rogue's eyes widened as she felt the high-speed power coarse through her body, and she pulled away. "Holy smokes!"

"Some rush, huh?" Velocity grinned, now slightly weakened.

"It's the most amazin' thing Ah've ever felt!" Rogue cried gleefully, jumping to her feet and doing fifty laps around the tree.

"Okay, now listen for a second," Velocity reached out, grabbed Rogue's ankle, and tripped her. "This is important. Now, whenever you start to miss me, just remember that rush, because that is how I feel every minute of every day. So then you will know that I am working to finish my mission at that speed, and I'll be back before you know it."

Rogue beamed, and embraced her. "Thanks, Nadia!"

"We'll always be sisters. That will never change."

"Ah know," she sat back with a silly grin on her face. "Now, before Ah forget, we have ta discuss some of these disturbin' thoughts Ah jus' pulled outta that head o' yours. Y'all actually think Pyro's _cute_?"

Velocity broke into hysterical laughter. "What, you mean, you don't?" Rogue made a face. "Oh, he could light my fire any day." Rogue joined the laughter. "Say, Roguey, you have had his thoughts in your head. What does he think of me?"

"Oh no ya don't. Ah ain't gettin' involved in this," Rogue shook her head.

* * *

The memory faded to black, and a single salty tear rolled down Rogue's cheek. She'd flown for an entire day and night, the scene continually replaying in her head. She was headed to the one place where she could remember the world made some kind of sense - a place where she could think things over, and talk to somebody who understood about feeling alone. That place was a gothic monastery, which stood on the top of a mountain overlooking the small town of Neuherzl, Germany. There, she would find the mutant preacher known as Kurt Wagner - her brother Nightcrawler. He would listen to her confession of the guilt she felt for what had happened, and he would probably be interested to hear about another member of his estranged family.

She hoped to God that he could help ease her mind, because she simply did not know where else to turn. She loved her teammates, and knew that they would understand her hasty departure, but she felt that she needed to be with what little family she had left.

"Ah'll miss yah," she repeated the words she'd said so long ago, as the monastery appeared on the horizon. What else was there left to say?**__**

**

* * *

THE END**


End file.
